By admin 
Tucked into a sleepy section of southern Sacramento County, a vineyard and winery with a private water feature offers a unique wine tasting experience.
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Valensin Vineyard, 10675 Valensin Road in Galt, hosts stand-up paddleboarding events monthly on its 15-acre lake. More than 200 wine enthusiasts from across the region travel to the winery, paddleboards in tow, to spend the afternoon leisurely floating around, sipping locally made wine.
These 21+ events, dubbed “Paddle & Pour,” have been running for four years during the region’s warmer months, and they’ve only gotten more popular as social media exposure increased. Valensin Vineyard manager Mandi Lee said the event idea first came from one of the winery’s longtime club members.
“We kind of just followed her direction and did a trial and error, and it became a huge success,” Lee said.
The next Paddle & Pour event is scheduled for this coming Sunday with the final event of the season planned on Sunday, Oct. 11. Tickets are available online at Valensin Vineyard’s website.
Sipping on a SUP
On a sunny, late summer afternoon, a dirt parking lot at Valensin Vineyard is packed with cars for a quarter-mile. Rows of inflatable paddleboards are filled by electric air pumps and hand pumps as visitors try to get their gear ready as quick as they can.
Glasses of wine and the promise of a wake-less afternoon on the water drew numerous Sacramento-area adults to the small-town winery for an afternoon.
Erika Hernandez and Alex Duarte heard about the winery’s events after videos of the Paddle & Pours began circulating on social media. Hernandez said she enjoyed having the chance to hang out with friends on the vineyard’s calm lake, and that she was excited to return after a fun first outing.
Picturesque Caribbean-blue water — dyed that way with food-grade pigment as an aesthetic choice and an algae growth inhibitor — spans a quarter-mile of Valensin’s property. Grapevines line the lakeshore, while two weeping willow trees provide soft shaded areas on the sunny water feature.
Paddleboarders receive a glass of sparkling pomegranate rosé or sauvignon blanc to start off their afternoon, with the option to purchase more glasses, full bottles or flavored wine slushies at the lakefront tasting room or on one of the winery’s two water-bound sale spots.
During Paddle & Pour, the tasting room’s outdoor deck becomes a “paddle-up” bar, while a small fishing boat brings the bar directly to guests as it putters around the lake. Live music and a wood-fired pizza truck slinging pies rounded out the floating picnic experience.
What to know before you go
Valensin Vineyard’s community paddleboarding days fall on the second Sunday of the month, between March and October.
At $20 per person, guests can spend four hours on the winery’s lake, from 1 p.m.-5 p.m during daytime events and 6 p.m.-9 p.m. for glow evenings. Paddle & Pour attendees do not need to own stand-up paddleboarding gear to participate — rentals are available to book ahead of time, for $50 per board.
One glass of wine and admission are included in the price. Parking in one of the vineyard’s lots is free.
In addition to daytime fun, the winery more recently added monthly Paddle & Pour Glow events on Friday nights. Paddleboarders can watch the sun set on the lake with glow sticks and light-up accessories on their boards.
Entries to the next Paddle & Pour Glow evening, on Sept. 11, has sold out online. One final glow night for the 2026 season, on Oct. 2, still had tickets available as of Thursday.
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