Experience terroir, the cutting-edge, chocolates & cheese at ZinFest Wine School

ZinFest wine lovers enjoying their day in Lodi Lake Park

There will be some fascinating 30 minute seminars offered at the 2012 Lodi ZinFest, taking place underneath the Wine School tent.  You can

• Learn all about Lodi terroir by connecting up the dirt with wines grown in it,
• Experience a do-it-yourself Old Vine Zinfandel blending seminar,
• Meet a Master Sommelier and “Grape Goddess,” and discover her secrets of enjoying wine with chocolates,
• Go on a guided tour of Lodi’s latest, greatest, most exciting and adventurous wines with the reviewer for one the most widely read wine magazines in the world,
• Or savor the perfect Lodi grown wines for five award winning cheeses handcrafted by San Joaquin Valley’s acclaimed Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese.

The luscious lowdown this year’s ZinFest Wine School, taking place alongside Lodi’s bucolic Lodi Lake:

m2's Michael Perry

1:00-1:45 PM
Blend your own Zin
Michael Perry, Wine Educator, m2 Vineyards
Ever wonder what it’s like to be a winemaker?  In this session m2 Wines’ Michael Perry leads you on an exploration of the many choices winemakers make every day to create the “perfect” Old Vine Zinfandel.

Restaurant Taste's Tracey Berkener

2:00-2:30 PM
Taste of Terroir in Lodi
Tracey Berkner, Restaurant Taste
Taste‘s restaurateur/sommelier Tracey Berkner comes down from the Foothills to share her fascinating perspective on the unique soil and climatic profiles of Lodi’s finest single vineyard wines.  The wines:
2008 The Lucas, Estate Lodi Chardonnay
2010 Sorelle, Troppo Bella Lodi Sangiovese
2010 St. Amant, Leventini Vineyard Jahant-Lodi Barbera
2010 m2, Soucie Vineyard Mokelumne River-Lodi Zinfandel
2010 Macchia, Noma Ranch Mokelumne River-Lodi Zinfandel

Catherine Fallis MS

2:45-3:15 PM
Wine & Chocolates According to the Grape Goddess
Catherine Fallis, Master Sommelier, Planet Grape
What would the “Grape Goddess” say about the best wines for chocolates?  Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis will share her thoughts, and entertain you as no one else can, with delicious tastes of San Francisco’s Bridge Brands Chocolates.  The wines:
2008 Barsetti, Lodi Zinfandel
2010 Ironstone, Lodi Cabernet Franc 2010
2009 Vinedos Aurora, Lodi Petite Sirah
2010 Kidder Family, Lodi Syrah
d’Art Wines, Lodi Port
Bridge Brand Chocolate matches:
31% Creamy White
38% Dreamy Milk
55% Smooth Dark
58% Decadent Dark
61% Edgy Dark
72% Intense Dark
Dark Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs 

Wine Enthusiast's Virginie Boone

3:30-4:00 PM
Unexpected Whites, Unscrupulous Reds
Virginie Boone, The Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Rising star wine journalist Virginie Boone shares her renowned penchant for sniffing out the finest, most unusual and daring wines made today — many of them grown right here in Lodi!  The wines:
2011 Forlorn Hope, La Gitana Silvaspoons Vineyard Alta Mesa-Lodi Torrontes
2011 Bokisch, Vista Luna Ranch Borden Ranch-Lodi Verdelho
2010 Uvaggio, Lodi Moscato Secco
2010 Harney Lane, Lodi Primitivo
2009 Miner’s Leap, Bechthold Vineyard Lodi Cinsault
2009 Hux, Lodi Marzemino 2009

Lodi wine & cheese lovers

4:15-4:45 PM
The Lodi Way of Wine & Cheese
Randy Caparoso of lodiwine.com & Sommelier Journal with John Fiscalini of Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese
Join a longtime journalist/restaurateur (and now, resident Lodi wine geek) as he chats with John Fiscalini about the basic principles of wine and cheese matching, involving some of Lodi’s finest wines and the outstanding artisanal products of Modesto’s own Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese:
2011 McCay Cellars, Lodi Tres Blanc (Roussane/Viognier/Verdelho)
2010 LangeTwins, Lodi Chardonnay
2009 Borra, Lodi Fusion Red (Syrah/Petite Sirah)
2010 Inkblot (by Michael-David), Lodi Cabernet Franc
2008 LangeTwins, Lodi Midnight Reserve (Petit Verdot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Malbec)
Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese matches:
San Joaquin Gold
Scamorza
Cheddar
Smoked Cheddar
Vintage Bandage Wrapped Cheddar

Lodi Lake lovers during 2011 ZinFest