The first tasting room is being proposed along Highway 120, just outside Escalon between Manteca and Escalon.

Zinc House Farm plans to expand from a small to large winery on the north side of East Highway 120 located 0.7 miles east of Carrolton Road.

The proposal is scheduled to be heard before the San Joaquin County Planning Commission on Thursday, April 21 when they meet at 6 p.m. at the county administration building in downtown Stockton to seek approval for a use permit.

The project is planned in two phases over five years.

The first phase includes converting an existing 1,687-square-foot agricultural building into a large agricultural store and food manufacturing operation.

Phase two includes converting that product store to a wine tasting room and then constructing a new 3,280-square-foot agricultural store and food manufacturing operation.

Previously in 2020 the county approved plans for a small winery and the construction or conversion of nearly 19,014 square feet.

That work is currently underway. They have also widened Highway 120 to allow for a left turn lane into the property that will stack up to 14 vehicles.

The agricultural store and wine tasting room will operate daily from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Agricultural processing and food manufacturing will take place five days a week from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

They anticipate having 20 employees per shift with an average of 140 customers a day.

The use permit would allow the winery to hold 20 marketing events a year accommodating up to 300 people, 12 events during a year with up to 116 guests and four two-day wine release events with between 150 and 300 people.

The state-of-the-art thermal mass winery is expected to be completed in spring 2023. The project also includes a 10,000 square-foot arbor that will greet guests and act as a shaded getaway and anchor for the winery.

It would be the first wine tasting room on Highway 120 that serves as the prime Bay Area to Sierra/Yosemite National Park route in Northern California.