Lodi and Zinfandel like two ships passing in the night, perfect for summer barbecues!

Lodi Zinfandel specialist Mike McCay serving up his steel drum smoked, dry rub spiced baby back ribs.

June 21 marks 2023's first day of summer, but we can already feel the season in the air when many of our thoughts turn to... barbecue!

We've posted many a write-up on this food group for a couple of reasons: 1) who doesn't love barbecue when the weather gets warm? and 2) the perfect wine for barbecue happens to be made from the grape for which the Lodi wine region is best known—Zinfandel.

First, about Zinfandel—primarily, that is, red Zinfandel, although there are a number of good, dry Zinfandel rosés now being made—as the perfect barbecue wine: We have enjoyed many different wines with barbecues, from smoked dry rub baby back ribs to pulled pork in zesty tomato barbecue sauces, grilled marinated chicken, Korean style short ribs, teriyaki beef and more. After all is said in done, it is Zinfandel that usually tastes the best with almost all the variations of barbecue...

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Fun photo album of this past weekend's 2023 Lodi Wine Experience

Lodi wine lovers at the 2023 Lodi Wine Experience in Lodi Lake Park.

The Lodi Wine Experience has come and gone, this past May 19-20, 2023. This, of course, was the yearly event formerly known as Lodi ZinFest, which went on hiatus after 2019 due to public health concerns.

The 2023 celebration at Lodi Lake Park began this past Friday night with a Signature Dinner: a joyful gathering of 500 vintners and wine lovers under two large tents under the stars, sipping the region's finest wines with farm-to-table cuisine. Weather and temperatures were perfecto, and everyone danced the night away to the irresistible rhythms of live music...

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Mio Vigneto releases its first Lodi estate Ribolla Gialla while finishing its winery and visitor facility

Ribolla Gialla at a golden peak of ripeness in Clements Hills-Lodi's Mio Vigneto estate.

Mio Vigneto, a Clements Hills-Lodi project that has taken about eight years to come to fruition in terms of commercial production, has just released its first wine: the 2022 Mio Vigneto Clements Hills-Lodi Ribolla Gialla ($29).

Ribolla Gialla is a varietal that, over the past fifteen or so years, has become one of the hottest white wines among consumers and sommeliers with a thirst for alternative style wines, often made from unfamiliar grapes. Ribolla Gialla may be new to you, but it is not considered unusual in its native region of Friuli, in Italy's northeastern corner, or in Slovenia where it is grown just across the border from Italy. There is documented proof of demand for wines made from this grape going back to the thirteenth century...

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