Lodi continues efforts to reach new audiences

More than 20 Japanese wine professionals recently visited Lodi and learned a whole lot about the region's wines, terroir and people.

Hiro Tejima is a wine professional new to his job as Japan Director with the California Wine Institute after working many years in the Australian wine industry.

Tejima, who is based in Sydney, Australia, recently brought a group of 20 acclaimed Japanese wine professionals to Lodi. The contingent included sommeliers, wine educators, restaurateurs, media and representatives from the top 10 most successful restaurants in the 2018 California Wines by the Glass Program.

Oct 30, 2018 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi 'Newcomers' Making Their Mark at Klinker Brick

Joseph Smith, left, and Chris Rivera comprise the winemaking team at Klinker Brick Winery.

Joseph Smith and Chris Rivera are the winemaking team at Lodi’s renowned Klinker Brick Winery.

Smith hails from the Caribbean nation of Belize, while Rivera’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Michoacán, Mexico.

Smith has been Klinker Brick’s winemaker nearly 10 years, and Rivera has been his understudy the past four years. Together, their passion and talent have helped Klinker Brick experience phenomenal growth behind a diverse lineup of premium artisan wines. Not only is Klinker Brick Winery a favorite destination for visitors to Lodi, their wines are distributed and enjoyed throughout the United States and overseas.

Oct 2, 2018 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi's Scott McKenzie is building his family's tradition

Scott McKenzie of McKenzie Vineyards and Winery is a busy guy with harvest this month, a new sparkling wine in production and a new tasting room opening in September in downtown Lodi. 

Scott McKenzie is a winegrape grower, husband and father.

And he’s a curator of his family’s history.

Stepping onto the McKenzie’s property in Acampo is a step back in time. Barns, stables, sheds, tractors, trucks, farming implements, picking boxes, a crank telephone and volumes of photos and records detail a proud family farming history that dates to 1895. Pictures of a bygone era stand on book shelves and night stands and hang from the walls inside the home his great grandparents built, where Woodbridge Road dead ends east of Dustin Road.

“There’s just a lot of history that people don’t know,” McKenzie said. “I’d like to get it out there before it’s all forgotten.”

Aug 22, 2018 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi's R-N-R Vineyard Management adds more layers to the family business

The Machado Family (from left to right): Rhonda, Matthew, Colton and Russell operate R-N-R Vineyard Management

Rhonda and Russell Machado hoped the day would come when their sons, Matthew and Colton, entered the family farming business.

Matthew loved being on the farm when he was a child. He drove a tractor before he could drive a car. It wasn’t a surprise when he joined his parents’ company, R-N-R Vineyard Management, after graduating from the University of California, Davis. Colton, on the other hand, was interested in sports more than farming. But in time, he became passionate about working the land and joined R-N-R after earning a degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Now, Rhonda and Russell have their two sons working beside them every day, and they couldn’t be happier.

Jul 31, 2018 at 2:47 PM Permalink

Harry Hakala's Mobile Wine Line has been a Lodi institution

Harry Hakala turned his mother's idea into a thriving business.

A stroke of genius led to a thriving business.

Harry Hakala has operated a mobile wine bottling company since 1978 after his mother, Eva Drummond, came up with the idea.

“She said in Germany, they actually bring the wine to the different places that own bottling equipment,” Hakala said. “She said, ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to bring the bottling equipment to the wine?’”

Thus, Mobile Wine Line in Lodi was born.

Jul 17, 2018 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi is taking on the world

Lodi was represented at the first "Lodi in London" tasting earlier this year by (left to right): Joe Lange (LangeTwins Family Vineyards and Winery), Kate St. Hilaire (Ironstone), Farrah Felten-Jolley (Klinker Brick), David Phillips (Michael David), Stuart Spencer (St. Amant) and Sierra Zeiter (Oak Farm) 

Lodi vintners are taking to the road never like before, spreading the word about the quality and variety of winegrapes and wines originating from the Lodi American Viticultural Area.

Jun 12, 2018 at 8:00 AM Permalink

The story of Lodi vineyard manager Luis Reyes and his red-hooded sweatshirt

​Luis Reyes nearly got fired his day working on a crew for Mettler & Son. Now, he's the company's general manager.

They laugh about it now.

But if Kyle Lerner’s first encounter with Luis Reyes was made into a motion picture, the title might be “The Man in the Red Hoodie.”

The opening scene would find Lerner watching a lone figure wearing a red, hooded sweatshirt, leaning up against a stake in a newly planted Primitivo vineyard. There was much work to do and this guy Lerner had hired as part of a crew to pull leaves and drive stakes into the ground wasn’t doing anything.

“So, I call my foreman and supervisor at the time and said, ‘David, who’s the guy in the red hoodie?’” said Lerner, who owns Mettler & Son, the farming side of Harney Lane Winery in Lodi. “’What the heck’s going on? This guy’s lazy.’”

May 15, 2018 at 9:00 AM Permalink

In the Name of Zin

Lodi winegrower Pieter den Hartog rescued a stray dog and named him Zin.

Lodi proudly proclaims to be the Zinfandel capital of the world.

And rightly so.

The Lodi American Viticultural Area is responsible for producing roughly 40 percent of California’s premium Zinfandel.

People in Lodi show their Zinfandel pride in several ways.

Pets, license plates, the city’s largest annual wine festival and even a local restaurant are named in honor of a winegrape that has been part of the fabric of Lodi for more than 100 years.

May 1, 2018 at 12:00 PM Permalink

John Anagnos has grown winegrapes and long-lasting relationships in Lodi

John Anagnos has worked for Arbor Vineyards the past 38 years and has served the Lodi farming community even longer.

John Anagnos was serving tri-tap sandwiches with all the trimmings for a hungry gathering at an outdoor luncheon.

He was struggling with a slicer and not at all happy about it, when he heard his name called. Some of those around him began offering their congratulations. Anagnos was puzzled for a moment before he realized that he had been named the 2017 Agribusiness Person of the Year by the Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

Apr 17, 2018 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Larry Mettler honored to be honored by the Lodi community

Lodi winegrowing icon Larry Mettler will be the guest of honor at the Notably San Joaquin Wine Auction and Dinner at Hutchins Street Squad in Lodi.

Larry Mettler is seated in a comfortable chair inside his family winery’s tasting room.

Outside, the trees sway in the breeze and acres of grape vines stand in neat rows.

Usually bustling Thursday through Monday, the tasting room is closed this day and eerily quiet. It’s not lost that Mettler, a Lodi winegrowing icon with multiple generations of family farming history behind him, resembles a monarch on his throne.

Mettler has built a successful vineyard management company and a thriving winery, a must-visit on the Lodi wine trail. His wife, Charlene, their three children and other members of the family are involved in the businesses.

On Saturday, Mettler will be honored at the Notably San Joaquin Wine Auction & Dinner at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi. Such occasions call for reflection. So, what is Mettler grateful for as he looks back on his life?

“I’m grateful that our forefathers were not involved in the dairy business or grew Brussel sprouts,” he said with a smile. “It’s a lot nicer being in the wine business.”

Apr 3, 2018 at 8:16 AM Permalink