It’s that time of year, when locals, visitors and families by the thousands are flocking to Downtown Lodi‘s picturesque main drag (School St.) to enjoy The Downtown Certified Farmers Market, which got off in full swing at the beginning of this past June, and will continue every Thursday (5 to 9 PM) through the month…
An heirloom vine grows in Lodi What is it with winemakers and their “odd” varieties and blends? Well, as Robert Mondavi always used to say, winemaking is as much an art as it is a science; and if there’s even a speck of truth to that statement, we have to expect something coming out of…
One of the Lodi AVA’s most venerated plantings – Mohr-Fry Ranches’ twelve and a half acres of Alicante Bouschet, which originally went into the ground in 1921 – may not be long for this world, which would be a tragic turn of events. Especially when you taste the recently released 2009 Harmony Wynelands Lodi Alicante…
Lodi grown wines garnered their share California State Fair awards, announced earlier this week. That’s impressive, considering that there were 2,890 wines, made by 688 wineries, submitted for sober adjudication by 72 distinguished wine judges. 2,156 of these wines earned medals; but more importantly, a handful of Lodi grown wines that garnered top top honors…
When Ross Schmiedt talks about wine quality, family and sustainability – something he does all the time, with inspiring ebullience, even from the confines of his wheelchair (in recent years Mr. Schmiedt has been impaired by ALS) – you quickly realize that in his mind, all three things are one and the same. First, about…
46 wineries and growers presented cutting-edge wines made from grapes of Spanish or Portuguese origin at the 5th annual TAPAS (Tempranillo Advocates Producers & Amigos Society) Grand Wine Tasting in San Francisco’s Fort Mason this past Saturday, June 9. Yet one could argue that the biggest hit at this year’s TAPAS showcase was not a…
While Lodi is known for its wine grape productivity – as such, the largest single American Viticultural Area in the U.S. – it has also become known as a source of many a cutting-edge grape. You name it, at least some of it is grown here: from Alicante Bouschet, Bastardo and Carmine, to Trincadeira, Vermentino,…
The gastronomic grape Do you enjoy alternative style wines veering off from the usual heavy handed, ripe or oaky style typical of “California” wine? Then you should seriously consider attending the Grand Wine Tasting sponsored by TAPAS – that is, the Tempranillo Advocates Producers & Amigos Society – this coming Saturday, June 19, 2012 in…
Since fall of 2010, Lodi’s leading Zinfandel specialists have been saying that 2010 is the best vintage in recent memory. Now that a few of these wines are out in the market, it’s time to ask the hard question: is 2010 truly a “vintage year” for Lodi Zinfandel, or are some people just blowing smoke?…
Summer officially arrives in three scant weeks (June 20, 2012). What will you be drinking? In a region fast becoming known for its variety, from Albariño to Vermentino, there is one Lodi grown wine that has become the dependable mainstay for its exceptional quality – purely as a wine, and also for its palate soothing…
Last week Wednesday, May 23, 2012, Phillips Farms, the agricultural arm of Michael-David Winery, hosted a gathering of eight other stellar winemakers and ten influential wine journalists in a vineyard walk and tasting of wines from Lodi’s oldest – and perhaps, most revered – vineyard: the Bechthold Vineyard. This historic event was organized and led…
We’ll go dancing in the dark Walking through the park and reminiscing… – Little River Band Enthusiasm was brimming during Lodi’s 2012 ZinFest, taking place under the gargantuan Weeping Willow trees of Lodi Lake Park. ZinFest weekend began this past Friday night with a sold-out Vintner’s Grille barbecue, attended by 500 people – a gathering…
Lodi crushes about 40% of California’s entire crop of Zinfandel each and every year, and there are more pre-1960 plantings of Old Vine Zinfandel (mostly, still growing on their own rootstocks!) in the Lodi AVA than anywhere else in the state. Therefore, Lodi Wine Country’s biggest, yearly spring celebration in Lodi Lake Park is called…
It’s all about the lush, juicy wines, good eats, the incredible greens and blues of Lodi Lake Park, and last but not least, the music at the 2012 ZinFest that will add up to memorably fine event in Lodi Wine Country this coming Saturday, May 19. Start with Snap Jackson & the Knock on Wood…
One of Lodi’s most highly regarded Zinfandel growths over the past dozen or so years has been the 10 acre vineyard owned and meticulously farmed by Craig Rous. Rous Vineyard is located in the heart of the “eastside” of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA – a level pocket of some 30 feet of porous sandy loam…
It’s all about foods we love to eat with Lodi’s lush, juicy wines under the 2012 ZinFest Cooking School tent this coming May 19 in Lodi Lake Park. The Cooking School will start off at 1 PM with Chef Fabrice Dubuc of Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant & Spa – which has been rated among…
Of the seven sub-appellations – officially called American Viticultural Areas (i.e. AVAs) – within the greater Lodi AVA, the Sloughhouse AVA (officially recognized in 2006) is among the least known, despite its incredible potential. Ironstone Vineyards‘ Petite Sirah may not be the biggest example of this varietal produced in California or the rest of Lodi;…
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…
“This is a day about discovery as you taste wines and share passion and surprise with the winemakers themselves,” Didier explains. Over two dozen of Lodi’s finest winemakers will be on hand in the hotel’s lush gardens to pour tastes of their most recent vintage: 2011 white wines and rosés, fresh and iced cold off…
Why have more and more wine lovers been flocking to Lodi’s ZinFest Wine Festival, a yearly celebration taking place this year on Saturday, May 19, 2012 (12-5 PM)? More than 6,000 attended last year’s festival, yet amazingly… It is never so much of a “crowd” than a gathering of people of like mind and palates,…
I fought against the bottle But I had to do it drunk… – Leonard Cohen (That Don’t Make It Junk) The 2009 Odisea California Temporary Insanity ($30) is a perfect example of how some of California’s most original, and quixotic, wine producers get hooked on Lodi; and why winemakers consider this American Viticultural Area increasingly…
LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards has been among the Lodi AVA’s leaders in Lodi Rules certified sustainable winegrowing. During the past eight years they have also devoted some 10 acres north of their winery on E. Jahant Rd., plus another 10 acres on their Sandpoint property along the Mokelumne River, to habitat restoration projects in…
But to live outside the law, you must be honest… – Bob Dylan (Absolutely Sweet Marie) Lodi’s Fields Family Wines has released what might be considered the region’s first Super Tuscan style wine: the 2010 Fields Family Lodi Il Ladro ($25). Why il ladro – Italian for “the thief”? The story goes back some six,…
The vineyards belonging to Heritage Oak Winery are tucked atop a particularly bucolic bend of Mokelumne River, just east of the town of Lodi. Out of Heritage Oak’s 186 acres, 105 is devoted to wine grapes, and the rest to fauna and flora: a beautiful convergence of riparian woodlands and vines, teeming with life —…