Lodi proudly proclaims to be the Zinfandel capital of the world. And rightly so. The Lodi American Viticultural Area is responsible for producing roughly 40 percent of California’s premium Zinfandel. People in Lodi show their Zinfandel pride in several ways. Pets, license plates, the city’s largest annual wine festival and even a local restaurant are…
More and more wine consumers, as well as journalists and online scribes, are starting to notice that the Lodi Viticultural Area produces light, refreshing, perfectly crisp and natural white wines without any winemaker “adjustments,” like the addition of acidity in the winery. Lodi is also known for Zinfandel – the region crushes nearly 40% of…
The 2015 Freelance Wines Lodi Coup de Grâce ($25) has an eye-catching label depicting George Washington leading his blue-coated men into battle, amidst falling snow looking more like shimmering Fourth of July confetti. The red wine inside is even catchier: A full throated, dense yet lusciously rounded blend of Lodi grown Zinfandel (47%), Petite Sirah…
Last week Thursday (April 12, 2018), Lodi Viticultural Area wine grape growers and vintners came together to celebrate a “LODI RULES Spring Party,” sponsored by the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and generously hosted by Michael David Winery. The April gathering was also the perfect excuse for everyone to share and sample the growing number of Lodi…
John Anagnos was serving tri-tap sandwiches with all the trimmings for a hungry gathering at an outdoor luncheon. He was struggling with a slicer and not at all happy about it, when he heard his name called. Some of those around him began offering their congratulations. Anagnos was puzzled for a moment before he realized…
How do Lodi grown wines compare to the best in the world? The only real way to find out is by lining them up right next to each other, and then tasting them “blind”: Judging them purely according to sensory qualities found in the glass, not by what you may have heard or assume about…
Winemakers are like everyone else. As soon as they get something done, they can’t wait to show it off. Which is why, in early April of each year, the Lodi Wine & Food Festival is the place to be if you, too, can’t wait to try many of the local wineries’ latest releases – especially…
Under the Wine School tent at this year’s Lodi ZinFest – taking place Saturday, May 19, 2018 at bucolic Lodi Lake Park – we will be pulling out all the stops to bring some of the wine world’s most celebrated winemakers, and most cutting-edge wines, to the stage. “Celebrated” in what way? San Francisco Chronicle,…
Larry Mettler is seated in a comfortable chair inside his family winery’s tasting room. Outside, the trees sway in the breeze and acres of grape vines stand in neat rows. Usually bustling Thursday through Monday, the tasting room is closed this day and eerily quiet. It’s not lost that Mettler, a Lodi winegrowing icon with…
Something exciting is afoot – or shall we say, a-hoof? – at Spenker Winery, a 60-acre winery estate located on the west side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA. This coming June 2018, the Spenker family will officially expand from being an estate grown winery to also being a licensed producer and seller of artisan farmstead…
After a visit to Tom Hoffman’s Heritage Oak Winery earlier this year, James Beard and Emmy award winning wine journalist Mary Orlin described Mr. Hoffman as the “Blend Master.” That is to say: Like all the top wine winery estates, Hoffman grows and produces varietal wines – wines labeled by the grape from which they…
The Camargo brothers are together most of the time. And that’s just how they like it. Ciro, Pablo and Robert are from Guerrero, Mexico, and each has worked for John Kautz Farms in Lodi for more than 30 years. They live close to each other near their job and their families socialize regularly. They help…
Clairette Blanche. Bourboulenc. These are the two latest white wines produced by Lodi’s Acquiesce Winery & Vineyard. Never heard of these grapes? Join the crowd. We’ll tell you all about them; but after that it will be up to you to get over to Acquiesce as soon as possible because less than 300 cases were…
What is the difference between a wine with a sustainably farmed seal – such as LODI RULES’s Certified Green, SIP Certified’s Sustainable In Practice, LIVE’s Certified Sustainable, or others – and one with a certified organic seal such as CCOF’s Certified Organic? In one of our previous posts entitled Cliff Ohmart, original architect of LODI…
Ben Kolber and Kris Gutierrez were working in the middle of the night when a grape harvester broke down, bringing things to a screeching halt. As they fixed the machine, the pair of Tokay High graduates looked at each other and said, “What are we doing fixing someone else’s machine?” Fast forward 15 years: Kolber…
At Covenant Wines in Berkeley late last month (February 2018), winery owner Jeff Morgan laid out his two current Zinfandels, both grown in Lodi, on the table, and issued a challenge to discern the differences. Our notes: 2016 Covenant Wines, Mensch Lodi Zinfandel ($20) – Bright ruby color; forward, briary red cherry aroma with suggestion…
“What I enjoy seeing is people who think they know Lodi Zinfandel – they taste my Zinfandel and say, this isn’t Lodi Zinfandel. Then I tell them, this is exactly what Lodi Zinfandel is.” That is what Nathan Kandler, the winemaker of Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards in Santa Cruz Mountains, was saying as he…
A continuation of Historic Lodi buildings and images (Part 1 – Sacramento and Main Streets) The City of Lodi, like the Lodi Viticultural Area surrounding it for 134 square miles, is built on an abiding foundation; its winegrowing industry nourished by the generosity of Mother Nature (particularly the region’s mild Mediterranean climate and deep, fertile…
Like a lot of teenagers in his day, Kelly Brakel worked in the fields to make extra money. He and his brother and their Lodi High buddies pruned vineyards, mowed lawns, drove tractors and did just about any odd job that paid on weekends and school breaks. Little did Brakel know his odd jobs would…
Lodi is not just America’s most widely planted wine region. It is also inextricably anchored to the City of Lodi – first settled in 1846, and incorporated in 1906 – which has its own proud past, prosperous present, and even brighter future. When the vast majority of people visit Lodi wine country today, they arrive…
Paul Verdegaal had big shoes to fill. His predecessor at the University of California Cooperative Extension of San Joaquin County, the late Jim Kissler, was a legend, according to several winegrowers and colleagues who spoke at a recent reception to celebrate Verdegaal’s retirement during the 66th annual Grape Day at Hutchins Street Square in Lodi….
For our photographic memories of Lodi’s 2018 Wine & Chocolate Weekend, we enlisted local Digital Marketing Specialist Frances Siria to chronicle some of her favorite moments, with images taken with her stealth smartphone. Ms. Siria currently serves as the Social Media Specialist for Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant & Spa, and has helped build a…
We have always described Lodi’s m2 Wines as a connoisseur’s brand. From the moment winemaker/co-owner Layne Montgomery opened for business in 2004 – first in a cramped industrial warehouse on the east side of town, then later (in 2014) in a sleek, ultra-modern, 6,000-square-foot customized winery/tasting room on the west side, plopped down in an…
Amber Spinetta sat next to her father and listened attentively during a recent LODI RULES meeting. Amber is only 11 years old, so she isn’t yet a winegrape grower or scientist, like many in attendance. But she understands and appreciates what sustainability means. Amber is intimately involved in her community and school, Plymouth Elementary in…