Tag: gambling

Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, owned and operated by the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo indians of California, is ideally situated along a particularly scenic portion of Highway 29 in Middletown, California. It offers wine tourists the fun and luxury of a premier casino, hotel, and restaurant—nearly halfway between the wineries of Calistoga in northern Napa Valley and the wineries of Lake County—setting the stage for plenty of wonderful wine touring opportunities. Said to be the only wine-themed casino destination in the United States, Twin Pine Casino & Hotel attracts discerning guests who like to blend their love of casino life and wine together.

For more than 100 years, the George Mettler family has farmed Harney Lane, a 100-acre parcel just east of Lodi, California.

But it wasn’t until 2006 that George, his wife Kathleen, daughter Jorja, and son-in-law Kyle Lerner, decided to venture into winemaking. Jorja left her career as a physical therapist to help with the winery; Kyle—who jokes that farming is legalized gambling with more variables—took on added responsibilities to manage the winery; and Kathleen applied her strong hospitality skills to organizing the tasting room. Even George’s two grandchildren, Kirsten and Ian, who represent Harney Lane’s sixth generation, played a part. The family now has complete control of their wines from vineyard, to the bottle, to the consumer. All the Lodi vineyard grapes are handpicked, hand sorted, then fermented in small lots and barrel aged.