Letters from Lodi
An insightful and objective look at viticulture and winemaking from the Lodi
Appellation and the growers and vintners behind these crafts. Told from the
perspective of multi-award winning wine journalist, Randy Caparoso.
Sustainable giants – How Bokisch and Fetzer Vineyards reap mutual benefits
While we naturally talk a lot about smaller production Lodi based wineries leading the way with wines focused more and more on sensory qualities unique to the growing region, the reality remains that the vast majority of Lodi grapes are grown for multi-million-case wineries that have originated outside the region. Companies such as E. & J. Gallo, Constellation Brands, Trinchero Family Estates, Treasury Wine Estates, The Wine Group, or Bronco Wine Company that churn out most of the value oriented brands (sold mostly as generalized "California" wines) found on America’s retail shelves.
For all of that, there are some Lodi growery/big winery relationships that seem to have gelled into a mutually beneficial business model personifying one of the ideals that has come to be identified with the Lodi Viticultural Area: namely, the pursuit of an accountable sustainability, entailing a balance of environmental, cultural or social, and economic goals, leading to consistent levels of quality and business success...
Continue »Lodi Appellation Inclusion Collective aims to increase wine industry diversity with first enrichment program in June
A group of Lodi vintners have come together to form an organization called the Lodi Appellation Inclusion Collective, or LAIC. LAIC's first activity is scheduled to take place by mid-June of 2021: a 3-and-a-half-day "enrichment" program, in which a projected half-dozen participants will be able to experience all facets of the Lodi wine industry, from vineyard and winery work to marketing and sales.
The express purpose of LAIC will be to increase racial and cultural diversity in the Lodi winegrowing region — and hopefully in the long run, enhance the American wine industry in general — by sponsoring activities that pro-actively stimulate interest in living and working in winegrowing regions like Lodi, particularly among the BIPOC (i.e., Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) communities...
Continue »Conversations with an English writer about the golden rule when telling the story of old vines
Just minutes before a virtual webinar coming out of London and hosted by The Old Vine Conference this past March 25, 2024, a distinguished British journalist named Tamlyn Currin—also widely known as the Sustainability and Senior Editor for JancisRobinson.com—peppered me with questions in preparation for her on-air introduction to recipients of 2024 Old Vine Hero Awards...
Continue »The consequential role of women in the Lodi wine industry
March is Women's History Month. We should, no doubt, celebrate the contributions of women to events and history every month, on each day of the year; but in its wisdom, U.S. Congress (in 1987) selected March as the month to celebrate the achievements of women towards our nation's fortunes and destiny.
The wine industry, however, is one place where women are still "catching up," so to speak, despite the fact that women make up just over half of the country's population, and currently over 58% of the country's overall work force...
Continue »Latest update on the 100+ grapes grown in Lodi
When the first-ever scholarly book on Lodi winegrowing was published in 2022, an entire chapter was devoted to 130 grapes, complete with photographs, representing each and every variety commercially grown in the appellation. Re Lodi! The Definitive Guide and History of America's Largest Winegrowing Region (2022, KitchenCinco Press).
Almost immediately after this 400-page tome was published, it was out of date. At least insofar as grape varieties.
A few grapes listed in the 2022 publication have since been dropped by growers, just over the past three years. A larger number has been added, simply because both new and established growers in Lodi have been a restless lot, busily cultivating brand new (at least for Lodi, if not most of California) varieties. The winegrowing industry, after all, is a fluid business, controlled by supply and demand, consumer trends and economic factors...
Continue »Vivid images of Lodi's Beauty of Days Gone By
In the seasonal rhythms of life, the cusp of spring (in 2024, coming up on March 19) is when the earth is exhaling, after and months and months of breathing and holding still, conserving energy for the longer days, the warmer temperatures and brighter, more nourishing light.
We respond in kind, as walking, talking, singing organic extensions of the Mother we call Nature. Spring awakens our appetites, and our thirst for wines and life is piqued, re-energized, hopeful, healing, as pent up and bracing as rushing, uncontained snowmelt...
Continue »The magic of Tempranillo (particularly with meaty dishes such as chocolate chili)
Tempranillo is not an obvious wine.
Yet by now, you have had either a personal experience or have heard all about this red wine varietal, made from the cultivar of this name that is native to Spain.
At least within the Lodi appellation, where the varietal has a place of little more importance than in other American wine regions. Among local wineries, there are now as many bottlings of Tempranillo as Cabernet Sauvignon (but not nearly as many as Zinfandel, Lodi's signature variety)...
Continue »Early sensory report on Lodi's challenging, yet exceptionally promising, 2023 vintage
California's 2023 harvest, you might have heard, was problematic, especially in the Lodi appellation.
In Lodi, the challenges were more economic than those of issues imposed by Mother Nature. It was, in short, a cooler than usual vintage. Theoretically, this is good, because Lodi is a warm climate winegrowing region. But as San Joaquin County Viticulture Farm Advisor Jim Kissler put it, “Some growers had trouble obtaining the minimum sugar requirements of 22˚ Brix [i.e., sugar readings]... and growers without a home for their grapes found it frustrating."
As of 2023, the entire California wine grape industry is beset with a problem of oversupply. Many vineyards up and down the state went unpicked last year, with vineyard owners left holding the bag. According to a report posted by Stuart Spencer (Executive Director, Lodi Winegrape Commission) this past December 4 on the Lodi Growers page...
Continue »Ode to Lodi's legendary Flame Tokay, never to be forgotten
About eight miles east of the City of Lodi, there is a short country lane called Tokay Colony Road, demarcated by Hwy. 88 to the west and N. Tully Rd. at its eastern end. It's an interesting road because it was named for the grape variety called Tokay—more properly known by its full name, Flame Tokay—which for about 100 years was the most widely planted grape in the Lodi wine appellation.
Only, it was never really a wine grape. Flame Tokay was primarily a table grape, grown for the fresh market, in supply for no more than a month's time each year...
Continue »Favorite Lodi Zinfandel and cheese matches
The air is still a little nippy, if not downright damp, which is why I, for one, tend to tucker down in the safety of my four walls at night. Preferably with a bottle of Zinfandel.
I drink Zinfandel with almost everything, including my favorite foods, such as spaghetti and meatballs, pan fried pork chops, Asian spiced barbecued baby back ribs, hibachi grilled salmon, or just plain pasta and garlic. How do you spell comfort?
Zinfandel, as it were, is also surprisingly good with cheese. Especially the gourmet type cheeses you find at Cheese Central, the artisanal cheese store owned by Cindy Della Monica, located in Downtown Lodi...
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