MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025. BY STEPHANIE BOLTON, PhD, LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION.
Featured image: The author enjoying a you-pick flower farm experience at Michael David.
Photo by Randy Caparoso.
There is no doubt that we need to create more ways for farmers and consumers to connect. It’s good for farmers to learn about consumers and for consumers to learn about agriculture. Farmer’s markets are fabulous but they are not for everyone. There is something special about visiting a working farm and getting an inside peek into how our food is grown. Outside of school field trips, this is rarely an opportunity for the average person.
My nephew, Noah Bolton, picking cherries next to a Lodi vineyard owned by Charlie and Sandi Starr. He thought cherries came from a jar! Photo by author.
In fact, connecting farmers and consumers is a global need in modern agriculture made clear during my Nuffield Scholar international research trips. For example, Japanese farmers on the struggling island of Hokkaido told us that they fell back in love with farming once they were able to shift from selling their crops to giant grocery store chains and start selling food to local families whom they could interact with. Seeing the joy that their crops gave to families brought life and energy back to their farms, and played a key role in getting the next generation interested in agriculture.
I’m on a mission to promote more sustainable, educational agritourism in Lodi and beyond. In Lodi, we are an agrarian community made up mostly of very experienced farmers who do not own a winery. I want to help these farmers feel confident and successful, and to realize the resources and opportunities that exist for them even when they cannot sell all of their winegrapes.
Most farmers have a spot like this that is perfect for a vineyard picnic!
Agritourism (on-farm experiences designed for education, recreation or leisure) is a rewarding way for farmers and consumers to connect. With today’s consumers hungry for semi-structured learning experiences and farms needing to diversify their income streams, now is a perfect time to try something new-to-you like agritourism.
Although we are quite innovative in California, there are significant hurdles to starting a new venture on a farm. Farming families will wonder how to operate agritourism legally. Understandably, they will also want to make sure that they are not setting themselves up to be sued.
A simple way to get your feet wet with agritourism is to try hosting an Airbnb Experience. Often when I visit new places, I check out Airbnb Experiences to see if there is something fun to do that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own. It’s a great way to have an adventure through the eyes of a local and to access spaces that are not open to the public.
The same cherry tree as in the earlier photo: a typical Friday night in Lodi for us could be a very unique, special experience for a tourist.
Photo by author with special thanks to the Starr family for keeping this cherry tree.
Remember that although we as farmers get to walk through vineyards and have sunset picnics in them any day we want, most people in the world do not. It is a treat for them, and they will gladly pay you to do it!
From airbnb.com: “Airbnb Experiences is a marketplace of unforgettable experiences hosted by locals who know their city best. You can host unique tastings and tours, art and outdoor activities, classes, workshops, and more.”
We currently do not have any Airbnb Experiences in Lodi at the time of this blog posting. We do have tourists. This means that the market is open and unlike with winegrapes, supply is low and demand is high!
Below are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing (remember – don’t all do the same thing!). Evaluate your resources and do a test run with some friends to get feedback before submitting your experience for approval to Airbnb.
Agritourism Airbnb Experience Ideas for the Farmer to Host:
- Diner breakfast with a farmer
- Picnic in a vineyard
- Photo shoot in a vineyard
- Meet and greet with farm animals
- Learn how to pick grapes
- Grape stomping
- How to make winegrape juice
- How to make wine
- How to cook with winegrapes
- Thrift shopping and wine tasting
- Birdwatching in the vineyard
- Morning run through a vineyard
- Bike ride through a vineyard
- Kitten play time on a farm
- Puppy play time on a farm
- Lodi viticulture history tour
- Mokelumne River salmon spawning tour
- Yoga in the vineyard
- Sound bath in the vineyard
- Full moon ritual in the vineyard
- Tractor time for toddlers
- Digging in the dirt play time for kids
- Viticulture 101 workshop
- Grapevine pruning experience
- Beneficial insect & native plant tour
- Sustainable winegrowing tour & tasting
- Tri-tip lesson on a farm
- ‘What’s in Season’ farm tour with harvesting
- Flower picking in a vineyard
- Food preservation on a farm
- Fermentation 101 workshop
- All about barn owls
- Plenaire painting in a vineyard
- Historic vineyard tour & tasting
- Stargazing in the vineyard
As you can see, the opportunities are endless. Airbnb does take a significant cut of what you charge tourists, so plan accordingly and don’t be afraid to charge people a fair rate for your time and resources. Click HERE for tips on hosting an Airbnb Experience.
I’ll be watching to see what you come up with – let’s show more people our magical world of viticulture and reinvigorate our farms by connecting with consumers who care!
Further Reading & Resources
To learn more, read Pam Strayer’s Grape & Wine Magazine article about the Unified Grape & Wine Symposium session I hosted earlier this year HERE. I’ll be giving a similar whole farm profitability session at the Sustainable Ag Expo in San Luis Obispo on November 11, 2025.
Visit California has a nice article with links to numerous agritourism examples HERE.
UC ANR has begun supporting agritourism in the state, with resources available HERE.
Have something interesting to say? Consider writing a guest blog article!
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For more information on the wines of Lodi, visit the Lodi Winegrape Commission’s consumer website, lodiwine.com.
