The latest two red wine releases by former Manhattan sommelier, Patrick Cappiello, are both fulfillment of one of his dreams: to produce a style of red wine Italians (and Italian-Americans) drank in copious amounts, which is out of traditional fiascos —the big, fat, straw-covered bottles long associated with wines from Tuscany‘s Chianti region. It’s not…
On the face of it, talking about wines being “balanced” was always perfectly okay. That is, until about ten years ago, when the term suddenly became politicized, like vaccines, gender identities, or anything suggesting “natural.” People started taking sides, and somewhere along the line, the notion popped up that wines over 14% alcohol, or pick…
When I met the West Sonoma Coast-based winemaker Greg La Follette some 25 years ago, the first thing that struck me was what a bundle of contradictions he seemed to be. I knew he was known, and highly sought after as an industry speaker and consultant, for being a winemaker with a mastery of the…
In our previous blog post, Progress of terroir-focused, vineyard-designated wines in Lodi, we discussed how wines with single-vineyard designations do not necessarily express sensory qualities derived directly from their respective vineyards’ growing conditions. Or as terroir is frequently defined: as having a “sense of place.” Quite often, winemaker or winery house styles, or obsessions with…
Terroir is a French term that entails the natural environmental factors, such as climate, soil, topography, aspect, elevation, latitude, etc., that have a direct effect on grape qualities, and ultimately on wines made from those grapes. Second, because vineyards, like wines, involve human input, viticultural traditions closely associated with regions or eras are often considered…
Celebrate the Spanish-Portuguese Grape Tailor-Made for Lodi In honor of International Albariño Day (officially, August 2), eight Lodi wineries will open their doors to celebrate their seventh annual Lodi Tour of Albariño on Saturday, August 7th, and Sunday, August 8, 2021. Open to the public, this 2-day celebration requires no tickets or reservations, and Albariño…
An indictment of varietal character Among all the quality factors by which American wines have been evaluated, the most onerous, and increasingly dubious, is the conception of “varietal character.” Varietal character is the term used to describe sensory qualities associated with a particular grape identified on the label of a bottling. For instance, the varietal…
It’s that time of year again, here in mid-July. Red wine grapes are in the midst of exchanging their green skin colors for coats of red, blue, purple, black, and all the shades in between. This stage of a wine grape’s development is called veraison, from the French word véraison (simply meaning “change of color”)….
It’s getting hot, and I don’t have to tell you — it’s hotter than usual. Mother Nature is telling us something. I’m not just talking about what we can do as citizens of the world, each of us doing our part to alleviate the extreme repercussions of climate change. But also what we can do…
The first thing to know about Guantonios Wood Fired is that they are more than a little (60-seat), family-owned, wood oven pizza restaurant. The Lodi locals who have already been enjoying their offerings since opening during the pandemic in the spring of last year have also come to know these three things: • Besides a…
Continued from Oak barrels, part 3 — French and American silviculture and oak seasoning Cooper’s ancient art That “necessity is the mother of invention” was an adage that probably predated even Plato (born around 425 BC), who wrote that down for posterity. So did wine barrels — in terms of predating Plato. Kazillions of wine…
Continued from Oak barrels, part 2 — historical usage up until modern times Winemaker machinations Winemakers are walking, talking examples of the old adage, that winemaking is both a science and an art. Oak barrels tend to bring out the artistic side of winemakers. Take McCay Cellars owner/grower/winemaker Mike McCay, who has achieved some notoriety…
Continued from Oak barrels, part 1 — origin and usage Oak barrel protocols at Lodi’s first artisanal winery In 1978, after working for Robert Mondavi Winery for 16 years, David Lucas established Lodi‘s second small, independent winery, and the region’s first to focus exclusively on wines crafted in a traditional French style. Which meant the…
Slow and patient barrel-aging (vs. shortcuts) This is an article about oak barrels. When and where the notion of aging wine in artfully bent staves of oak first started, and how it’s done — or not really done — today. What do we mean by “not really done”? Most of the world’s finest wines are…
The era of saloons and gamblers In 1874 the 450 or so citizens of a little town called Mokelumne — nestled in the lush watershed area of California’s Mokelumne River, just east of the marshy Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta — decided they needed a name change. So they came up with “Lodi.” A short and…
This past Wednesday, June 9, Acquiesce Winery owner/grower/winemaker Sue Tipton pulled out a tool from her box familiar to all wine regions that have been in the process of carving out an identity recognizable to wine consumers and wine professionals all around the world: A double-blind tasting comparing three of her Lodi estate grown wines…
The first lily of June opens its red mouth… And moves on to equally lusty phraseology with … The green will never again be so green, so purely and lushly new, grass lifting its wheaty seedheads into the wind. rich fresh wine of June, we stagger into you smeared with pollen, overcome… Of course, early…
The misbegotten grape Grenache blanc, the golden-green tinted clonal variation of the black-skinned Grenache noir, is the little grape that could. The best word to describe its track record, or fairly recent success, in the Lodi region just may be “unlikely.” Why? Mostly because no one ever expected much out of this grape in the…
Visiting sommelier learning about wine in its context: a glass of Lodi Zinfandel, a cluster of Zinfandel, and in the vineyard where the wine and clusters are grown The Lodi Wine way There are no absolutes when it comes to wine. That is the perception of the quality of any wine, plain or beautiful, cheap…
How does a fourth and fifth-generation-operated Lodi grower with roots traced back to Germany end up as one of California’s leading producers of premium quality Italian varietals? It’s all about the climate, says David Akiyoshi, the head co-winemaker (with Karen Birmingham) of LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards. “We’ve gravitated to Italian varieties because we discovered…
There is something about a rosé that keeps a wine lover humble. It is made from black-skinned grapes, the same types of grapes that produce red wines — the kinds of wines that make casual wine lovers go ooh and the most pretentious of connoisseurs go aah. Yet rosé, as fine as it can be,…
Sorting out the misperceptions Please excuse the title of this post. No one who loves Chardonnay need ever apologize for harboring a hankering for this varietal, the world’s best-selling white wine of any sort for going on 30 years. When it comes to wine, or anything of an artistic nature (art, music, literature, fashion, even…
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…
The weather here in Lodi wine country is warming up. The days are long enough to enjoy the local farmers markets up until the late-evening sunsets (already past 8:00 PM!), and guess what: It’s time to dust off the grills for outdoor dining during the extended blue hours! Barbecuing, of course, doesn’t have to be…