At Valensin Vineyard in Galt, guests don't just sip wine on a patio — they float on a quarter-mile lake, glass in hand, while a small fishing boat motors past to refill their drinks. The winery's Paddle & Pour event, restricted to guests 21 and older, has run for four years during the warmer months and now draws more than 200 wine enthusiasts from across the region each time it's held.
The idea started small. Valensin Vineyard manager Mandi Lee said the concept came from one of the winery's longtime club members, according to The Sacramento Bee. What began as a trial-and-error experiment, Lee said, became a huge success, and the event has since grown as social media exposure introduced it to a wider audience.
Admission costs $20 per person and includes four hours on the lake plus one glass of wine, with paddleboarders able to purchase additional glasses, full bottles, or flavored wine slushies once they're out on the water. Guests without their own equipment can rent a paddleboard for $50. The lake itself isn't a recent addition — according to historical context reported by the Bee, it originally served as a professional water ski course and tournament facility long before any grapevines went into the ground nearby.
From Grape-Growing Operation to Lakefront Destination
Grapes were first planted around the lake in 2002, but Valensin operated strictly as a vineyard supplying fruit for nearly two decades before officially opening its commercial tasting room in 2020, per the same Bee report. Today the property has a lakefront tasting room and two water-bound sale spots, along with free parking for visitors.
The winery sits within the Alta Mesa AVA, a 55,400-acre American Viticultural Area established in 2006 as one of seven nested sub-appellations within Sacramento County's portion of the larger Lodi wine region, according to Wikipedia's entry on the Alta Mesa AVA. The AVA is known for flat, elevated tabletop terrain shaped by ancient river action and clay-hardpan soils that naturally limit vine vigor and concentrate fruit flavor, according to WineWiki. Real estate listing records cited on Facebook indicate Valensin grows roughly four acres of estate vines planted with Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Grüner Veltliner, and Chambourcin.
That puts the winery inside a wine region far larger than its Napa and Sonoma counterparts. The broader Lodi viticultural area spans more than 110,000 planted acres across San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, exceeding the combined vineyard acreage of Napa and Sonoma counties, according to San Diego Wine Guru.
Community Paddle Days and Glow-Stick Nights
Valensin hosts monthly stand-up paddleboarding events on its 15-acre lake, with community paddleboarding days held the second Sunday of each month from March through October. The winery later added a Friday-night twist called Paddle & Pour Glow, running from 6 to 9 p.m. and featuring glow sticks and light-up accessories attached to paddleboards, while daytime Paddle & Pour sessions run from 1 to 5 p.m.
Paddleboarders at daytime events receive one glass of sparkling pomegranate rosé or sauvignon blanc, per the Bee's reporting. The lake itself is tinted with a food-grade pigment that Lee said doubles as both an aesthetic choice and an algae growth inhibitor. The events also include live music, a wood-fired pizza truck, and an outdoor-deck paddle-up bar for guests who'd rather stay dry.
The next daytime Paddle & Pour is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, with the final 2026 daytime event set for October 11. A Paddle & Pour Glow evening is scheduled for tonight, though tickets for that date have already sold out; the final Glow event of the year is planned for October 2. Tickets for all events are sold online through the winery.
Guests Discover the Lake Through Social Media
Erika Hernandez and Alex Duarte said they found out about Paddle & Pour through social media videos before attending an event held on August 30. Hernandez told the Bee she enjoyed spending time with friends on the vineyard's calm lake and said she plans to return after her first outing.
The winery has also leaned into technology beyond the lake itself. Valensin became an early adopter among Lodi-area wineries in 2022 when it integrated the digital platform PairAnything to offer guests interactive mobile food-and-wine pairing guidance, according to Wine Industry Advisor.
Safety Rules Apply Even With Wine in Hand
Mixing alcohol with paddleboarding isn't without legal guardrails. Under California Harbors and Navigation Code Section 655, stand-up paddleboards are legally classified as watercraft, meaning operating one with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher counts as Boating Under the Influence, according to Vista Criminal Law. Federal rules set by the U.S. Coast Guard also classify paddleboards used outside designated swimming or surfing zones as vessels, requiring adults aboard to carry a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device and children 12 and under to wear one, per StoreYourBoard.
The safety stakes behind those rules are significant. U.S. Coast Guard boating safety data show that 87% of fatal drowning victims in watercraft incidents with known status were not wearing a life jacket, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division. Valensin's event address is 10675 Valensin Road in Galt, where the combination of wine, water, and warm-weather crowds has turned a former water-ski lake into one of the region's more distinctive wine-country outings.
