Many have called for it, but few have earned it. That is, the coveted title of Master Sommelier, which Catherine Fallis achieved 22 years ago, in 1997. How few? There are only 219 Master Sommeliers in the entire world, 140 of them in the U.S. Fallis – who you can read about on her Planet…
Over the past fifteen years Bechthold Vineyard, planted entirely to the Cinsaut grape, has developed an almost legendary, international renown, going far beyond its Lodi Viticultural Area roots. This 25-acre-planting, in fact, has thrived on its own natural or “wild” roots – planted in 1886, long before Lodi growers thought to graft vines on to…
Continuation from The Wine Compass’ opus on the long history and new iconic whites of Lodi (Part 1) Is that all there is? -Peggy Lee Much of the wine media, including almost everything you find in the blogosphere, is focused on same ol’, same ol’. Yeah, we know that French grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay…
There are wine blogs and there are wine blogs. But how about one, called Wine Compass (est. 2005) that has endeavored to map out all the wineries, breweries, distilleries and cider tasting rooms in all 50 states of the U.S., plus Canada? The Virginia based Wine Compass founder and author Todd Godbout is not only…
One of the most promising new wines to recently come out of Lodi is the 2018 Oak Farm Vineyards Estate Grown Lodi Fiano ($26), especially if you – like more and more wine lovers – have been gravitating towards dryer and dryer white wines with fresh, palate zinging natural acidity. This wine absolutely sings with…
For this blog post, we are pleased to feature the words and impressions of a guest writer: Luiz Alberto, the Brazilian born, Boston based founder/author of The Wine Hub, one of the most popular multifaceted consumer-service sites on the web, where Mr. Alberto regularly plies his boots-on-the-ground international experiences to share his vinous pearls of…
Have you found yourself becoming a true-blue Lodi wine lover, almost to the point of some kind of geekiness? Scary thought? Well, if you’ve come to love the gentle yet refreshingly pure and fruit-forward styles of Lodi grown wines… not just the sumptuous yet feminine Zinfandels, but also the pungently spiced Grenaches and earthy Tempranillos,…
The 2019 Zinfandel Blind Tasting – taking place on May 17, the Friday before the ZinFest Wine Festival – was meant to be a study of ancient vine Zinfandels from not just Lodi, but also some of the most prestigious vineyards in the rest of California. While nearly 40% of California Zinfandel is grown in…
2019’s weather, we expect, will be a little chill (calling for a high of 63°), and there’s a chance of drizzle, but we’ve seen that before at Lodi’s yearly ZinFest Wine Festival; and everytime, everyone still had a grand ol’ time mastering of the art of sipping wine while balancing an umbrella or wrap. It’s…
As part of Lodi’s 2019 ZinFest, there will be a Zinfandel Blind Tasting taking place at 2 PM on May 17 in the Wine & Roses Hotel Ballroom. We are also calling this event: A Study of Ancient Vine Zinfandels of California. The blind tasting will be led by a panel of three unimpeachable wine…
If anything, the Lodi Viticultural Area is prolific. We now count over 125 grape varieties planted in the region; all variations of Vitis vinifera, belonging to the original European family or species of wine grapes. Why Lodi? Simply put, this is where the California wine industry sources most of the grapes going into wines sold…
The French call it terroir – a “sense of place” reflecting each vineyard’s unique soil, climate, aspect and overall topography, which is reflected on how vines grow, their resulting grape clusters, and ultimately in the wines coming from those grapes. Terroir explains why wines from certain vineyards and regions have sensory qualities that are different…
Just ten years ago, whenever a wine connoisseur was served a pink wine he/she would run away screaming, thinking it was a White Zinfandel. These days what you hear are mostly oohs and ahs because more and more pink wines are being produced either bone dry or very nearly dry. Like “serious” wines, you might…
It’s nearly that time again: the annual Lodi ZinFest Wine Festival, taking place Saturday, May 18, 2019 at the stunningly bucolic Lodi Lake Park. This year festival will begin at 12 PM for Early Entrance guests (admission $75, available only with advance purchase), and then go from 1 PM to 5 PM for General Admission…
Friday, May 17, 2019 – 2:00-4:00 PM – Wine & Roses Hotel Ballroom (Lodi) Exactly how do Zinfandels from Lodi’s oldest vines compare to ancient vine Zinfandels grown in Sonoma County, Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Contra Costa and Amador County? The best way to find out is to taste them “blind,” with no preconceptions, just…
How do you describe the latest wine produced by Lodi’s Estate Crush, Downtown Lodi’s custom crush facility (serving over 60 winery/clients, on top of wines sold under its own brand)? The 2018 Estate Crush Lodi “Carbonated” Cinsault Rosé ($26) is so many things that it is practically “ironic,” as Alanis Morissette once sang, citing a…
It’s ba-a-ack. A pale, transparently pink wine made 100% from black skinned Zinfandel grapes – otherwise known as “White Zinfandel.” Only, this time around it’s a bone dry pink wine – bottled without one, single gram of residual sugar. To hedge his bets, however, Michael Klouda Wines owner/winemaker Michael Klouda is calling his new fangled…
At the cusp of spring, wrote the poet Marge Piercy, the months become a “rich fresh wine,” into which we stagger “smeared with pollen,” when “the green will never again be so green, purely and lushly.” As a more sobering harbinger of events, The Old Farmer’s Almanac prognosticates on the upcoming 2019 weather: “Raindrops won’t…
The re-opening of Acquiesce Winery’s tasting room – which usually happens after about four months of a “winter slumber” – has become something of a yearly rite of spring for many a Lodi wine lover. Owners Sue and Rodney Tipton welcomed the first of their 2019 visitors and loyal club members just this past weekend…
In the 1850s and 1860s, when pioneering growers first began planting wine grapes in Sonoma County, Napa Valley, the Santa Cruz Mountain area, Amador County and, of course, the Lodi Viticultural Area, they planted their vines as free-standing plants – with no trellis wires, just one supportive stake per vine – in a fashion known…
Okay, so it’s still a little gray out there, and the ground has not yet completely dried up from the winter rains (but hey, water!), on the first day of spring – or the vernal equinox (as of Wednesday, March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere), when day and night are just about equal in length…
Mike Dunne is one of those newspapermen whose unimpeachable creds as a published wine pundit were established roughly in the Stone Age. That is, when The Rolling Stones were still considered a voice of “youth” (who knows what you should call them now). Mr. Dunne officially “retired” from The Sacramento Bee in 2008 after working…
There are plenty of American wineries founded with the intention of specializing in one grape, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir or Zinfandel. There is a much smaller handful hanging their hats on grapes like Tempranillo, Syrah, Mourvèdre or Grenache. But Petite Sirah? That may take some guts. And there is one, based in Napa,…
Lodi is known for its heritage Zinfandel and, increasingly, its huge diversity of grapes and wines (over 100 commercially grown varieties, by recent count). Where else in California can you say, for instance, you can find more brands of Albariño and Tempranillo than Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon? You can also think of the Lodi Viticultural…