Lodi's foreign legion (part 2)

Stama Winery owner/grower Konstantino "Gus" Kapiniaris

Continuing our stories of outstanding growers and winemakers born in far flung places, and now fully immersed in the Lodi Viticultural Area's rich culture of winegrowing:

Aug 20, 2015 at 6:00 AM Permalink

Lodi's foreign legion (part 1)

Harinder and Bobby Dhaliwal, who came to Lodi with their family from Punjab, India in 1983

They are, of course, no longer “foreigners,” but more correctly, foreign-born winemakers and growers who are now fully immersed in the Lodi winegrowing industry, contributing immensely to the community.

Aug 18, 2015 at 6:00 AM Permalink

What makes Lodi special? For Markus Bokisch, it's newfound

Markus Bokisch walking over cobbly clay terrain in Lodi's Cosumnes River AVA; site of one of Bokisch Ranches' latest vineyard plantings.

Is there any winegrower more sold on the Lodi Viticultural Area than Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Ranches?

Mr. Bokisch first started to come to Lodi during the early 1990s, while fulfilling his job of sourcing “Rhône Ranger” grapes (i.e. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Viognier, etc.) for Joseph Phelps Vineyards’ Vin du Mistral program (since deactivated).

Aug 11, 2015 at 6:00 AM Permalink

What makes Lodi special? For Mike McCay, it's the excavation of ancient vines

McCay Cellars owner/winemaker Mike McCay

If you ask Mike McCay, the winemaker/owner of McCay Cellars, about what makes Lodi special, he’s going to want to talk about ancient vines and Zinfandel; which, after all, are his specialty.

But Zinfandel grows well all over California; and certainly, ancient vine plantings in places like Sonoma, Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Mendocino, Contra Costa, the Sierra Foothills or elsewhere do not take a backseat to plantings in any other region, including Lodi.

So what does make ancient vine Zinfandel in Lodi different, besides the fact that Lodi has a lot more acreage of these plantings (vineyards planted 50, 75, even over 100 years ago) than other regions?

Aug 6, 2015 at 4:00 AM Permalink

What makes Lodi special? For Borra's Markus Niggli, it's about

Borra Vineyards winemaker Markus Niggli with wintering Vermentino

What sets Lodi apart from other American Viticultural Areas? We asked Markus Niggli, the Swiss-born winemaker of Borra Vineyards. Borra is currently Lodi’s oldest continuously operating family winery (bonded in 1975). Yet today, Borra is known as Lodi’s most innovative winery – a reputation garnered almost since the first day, in 2006, when third generation Lodi grower/founder Steve Borra welcomed Mr. Niggli onboard.

Aug 4, 2015 at 7:00 AM Permalink

What makes Lodi special? For Stuart Spencer, it's heroic vines and people

St. Amant's Stuart Spencer with 2014 Marian's Vineyard Zinfandel harvest

In part 2 of our series addressing the question of what makes the Lodi Viticultural Area special, we turn to Stuart Spencer, winemaker/owner of St. Amant Winery.

Is there any winery more respected by other Lodi winemakers and growers than St. Amant? Founded in 1979 by Barbara and the late Tim Spencer (Stuart Spencer’s parents), St. Amant has remained pre-eminent in the Lodi winegrowing community while retaining its original, unpretentious identity.

Jul 30, 2015 at 7:00 AM Permalink

What makes Lodi special? According to Craig Rous, it's

Craig Rous among his 106-year-old Rous Vineyard Zinfandel vines

Over the next two weeks we will feature words from a few winemakers and growers, speaking out on one subject: what makes Lodi special.

Jul 28, 2015 at 4:47 PM Permalink Comments (1)

Lodi's stoned dry, soulful rosés

Bechthold Vineyard Cinsaut (ancient vines planted in 1886) during July 2015 veraison; source of some of the finest roses in California

Summer, as many Lodi wine lovers well know, is the time for backyards brimming with tinkles and laughter, hovering hummingbirds, and the pungently earthy scent of golden paellas or the wispy gray smoke of grilling vegetables and marinated white or red meats; the heat bending the optics of multi-colored flora through the dappled shades and blinding rays of sun penetrating through the typically towering trees nourished by our fertile Delta soil.

Jul 20, 2015 at 4:21 PM Permalink

Are we brainwashed by wine prices and ratings?

The non-existent connection between quality and price

How much of what we perceive or think about wine is a mind trick - much less real than we may suspect?

Naturally, here in Lodi – where average bottle prices tend to be slightly lower than that of other wine regions because of a number of circumstances, beginning with grape prices – we have reason to dwell on this question. In our case: How much of what consumers (as well as critics and wine industry professionals) think of Lodi wines is real, and how much is simply unfounded perception?

Jul 12, 2015 at 3:13 PM Permalink

How warm (or cool) is Lodi?

Taking Lodi’s temperature over the past century 

There are things about the Lodi Viticultural Area that are not exactly common knowledge among wine lovers.

The growing of wine grapes in this Delta region, for instance, dates back to the 1860s. Yet Lodi is still considered an “up and coming” wine region. Fair enough. Although Lodi is easily the largest wine grape growing region in the U.S. in terms of acreage (table grapes and raisins play almost no role in Lodi’s viticultural industry), top quality varietal wines that say “Lodi” on the label didn’t actually appear in the market until the late 1990s. In that sense, Lodi is very up and coming.

Jul 7, 2015 at 2:52 PM Permalink