Albariño—the state of one of Lodi's most important varietal whites

Silvaspoons Vineyards owner/grower Ron Silva with his Alvarinho, a Portuguese clonal variant of Albariño.

Why Albariño is such a natural in Lodi

Albariño—a grape variety native to Spain's Rías Baixas region, also grown in the neighboring Vinho Verde region of Portugal—is by no means the most important white wine cultivar in California. Not when there is over 126 times more Chardonnay cultivated in the state.

Yet among the wineries based in California's Lodi appellation, Albariño has emerged as one of the most important of white wine varieties. There are more producers of Albariño in Lodi than there are brands of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio (a.k.a., Pinot Gris). 

Lodi, in fact, grows and produces more than a third of all the Albariño in California (see the USDA's most recent statistics below). So just in this sense, this varietal has become the appellation's signature white wine.

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LODI RULES is a viticultural celebration of Earth Day all year round

The first Earth Day

Today, April 22, marks Earth Day all around the world. 

Did you know that the first Earth Day was touched off by activists mobilized in California, following an oil spill off of Santa Barbara in January of 1969? President Richard Nixon came to Santa Barbara the following March and spoke to a gathering crowd, saying "... the Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people" (see sbearthday.com)... 

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Is appreciation of wine as varietals becoming passé? Part 2, pain and controversy

Contrasting Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards: (Top) high cordon machine pruned trellis on single wire in Jahant-Lodi AVA; (bottom) vertical shoot position trellising (usually cultivated by hand) in Rutherford-Napa Valley.

Continued from previous post: Is appreciation of wine as varietals becoming passé? Part 1, history, terroir, rebellion

Pain and controversy wrought by push to go beyond varietal sameness

When many (if not most) Americans think of "California wine," they still think of Napa Valley, even though Napa Valley produces only 4% of California wines (re Capstone California). Non-Californians still have problems finding places like Lodi (which produces 20.5% of California wines), Lake County or Paso Robles on a map. For all they know, Santa Lucia Highlands is located north of the Bay and Anderson Valley is south of it...

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