Manteca’s biggest — and longest running — art show is returning in late January.

Delicato Family Wines is hosting its 34th annual Fine Art Show in their Manteca tasting room.

Entries will be accepted at Delicato Tasting Room from Jan. 4-19. The wine tasting staff will be accepting entries from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Applications may be obtained by phoning emailing or visiting the tasting room. Entry forms are also posted on the tasting room’s website at www.delicatowineshop.com.  

The show is named in honor of the late Dorothy Indelicato.

Not only did she play an integral role in helping Delicato become one of the world’s largest wineries, Indelicato also was passionate about promoting arts whether it was through the art show she started or efforts such as making it possible for Manteca school children to attend Stockton Symphony performances.

Artists are allowed to submit up to five pieces. There is a $9 per entry fee.

The competition is open to entries by creators of original art produced in the last three years.

Mediums accepted are acyclic watercolor, pastel, oil, charcoal or ink.

Judging of original pieces in landscape, floral, portrait, animals, whimsical, seascape, and other will be conducted on Saturday, Jan. 27.

If all entries receive sufficient entries, 20 awards totaling over $1,600 will be presented to category winners.

The 2024 judge is Debbie Wardrope.

She is a Bay Area native and longtime Pleasanton resident who has always loved art and pursued painting most of her life including during a 20-year stint in mortgage banking.

Wardrope graduated “with distinction’ from the California College of the Arts in Oakland with a BFA in illustration.

Her work has been recognized through numerous awards.

She has exhibited in group and solo shows such as Art Expo in New York and in galleries from Yountville to Carmel.

A signature member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, Wardrope teaches oil, acrylic, and pastel painting classes for adults and art classes for children.,

Her primary media is pastel, but she also paints in oil and acrylics.

“I believe art should be beautiful, accessible, and evoke an emotional response in the viewer,” Wardrope said.

 Visitors are encouraged to call the tasting room to reserve a tasting flight and cast a vote for their favorite piece of art. The winning artist will receive the coveted Visitors’ Choice Award.

Delicato Wine Shop is open from 9 to 5:30 p.m. daily off Highway 99 at the French Campo Road exit four miles north of Manteca.