I spend a lot of time going over my own photos of Lodi wine country. The best ones, I think, are the accidents. It is one thing to see something beautiful in a vineyard. It is another to capture that beauty with a camera. If you’re lucky you snap a photo that you find to…
When a rose is but a rose In our previous post we addressed the matter of Putting to bed the myth that light and crisply balanced whites can’t be grown in warm climates. This time around, let’s talk about red wines in warm climate regions. Particularly Zinfandel. For the longest time it has been thought…
Albariño, Assyrtiko, Bacchus, Bourboulenc, Chenin blanc, Clairette blanche, Grenache blanc, Fiano, Kerner, Macabeo, Parellada, Piquepoul, Riesling, Vermentino, Xarel-lo and more… The other day I was telling an old friend/colleague about a fantastic 20-year-old bottle of white wine grown in Lodi I recently enjoyed. How it tasted fresh as a daisy and, a little surprising, was…
Teeny-tiny Stonum Vineyards, located on Alpine Rd. on what locals call the “east side” of Lodi, is growing up. But lest you think this means they’ve joined the ranks of big or even medium-sized producers, think again. The winery’s production has recently topped off at about 1,000 cases a year⏤minuscule even by the standards of…
Last week (May 14, 2024) a most unusual Lodi tasting (even for us!) was conducted, per the request of four visiting journalists representing Wine Enthusiast magazine: Tonya Pitts (Contributor, Wine Reviewer), Anna Christina Cabrales (Tasting Director), Sara Ventiera (Senior Digital Editor) and Anthony Eyzaguirre (West Coast Advertising Account Manager). We tasted 14 Lodi-grown wines from…
Since 2018, Vino Farms has been farming a good chunk of its 4,500 or so acres in the Lodi appellation in multiple fashions falling under the broader umbrella that can be described as sustainable. This past week, when presenting his family’s showcase sustainable vineyard⏤a Clements Hills-Lodi AVA property called Grand Vin Lands⏤Vino Farms VP/Partner Craig…
LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards has done it again. This industry leading family winery and winegrower has just released a red wine joining their Single Vineyard portfolio of sustainably farmed, estate grown wines. It is a sensational blend of Nero d’Avola (33%), Zinfandel (33%), and a grape called Ancellotta (34%). Zinfandel, everyone knows. Nero d’Avola…
The heroic tale Let’s talk about the continuing saga—and it really is a story of heroic proportions—of the Lodi appellation‘s Mokelumne Glen Vineyards. First, a summary of the story up until today: It started when a serious grape bug took an extra-big bite out of Bob Koth, a Lodi educator and grape farmer, in the…
This past mid-December I was walking along a beach in Hawaii, toes squishing along in wet silky sand, when the phone in my board shorts rang. It was Patrick Cappiello, owner/winemaker of Monte Rio Cellars, a Sonoma County-based brand that has been making quite a name for itself for naturalistic style wine—most of it sourced…
One of California winemaker Randall Grahm’s favorite ways of referring to the under-appreciated wine grapes of the world is “ugly ducklings.” Or, if you prefer a more esoteric word, “heterodoxical.” That is, unorthodox or contrarian to the point of making a point. The point of Nero d’Avola is that it is one of those grapes…
Silvaspoons Vineyards owner/grower Ron Silva with his Alvarinho, a Portuguese clonal variant of Albariño. Why Albariño is such a natural in Lodi Albariño—a grape variety native to Spain’s Rías Baixas…
The first Earth Day Today, April 22, marks Earth Day all around the world. Did you know that the first Earth Day was touched off by activists mobilized in California, following an oil spill off of Santa Barbara in January of 1969? President Richard Nixon came to Santa Barbara the following March. He spoke to…
Continued from the previous post: Is appreciation of wine as varietals becoming passé? Part 1, history, terroir, rebellion Pain and controversy wrought by the push to go beyond varietal sameness When many (if not most) Americans think of “California wine,” they still think of Napa Valley, even though Napa Valley produces only 4% of California…
First, let’s taste three different Lodi Zinfandels, all made by the same local winery, Harney Lane Vineyards: • The 2020 Harney Lane “Home Ranch” Zinfandel ($32) is almost an essence of what many people love about Zinfandel—round, plumpish yet bouncy on the palate, with velvety flavors, almost plush in their softness, signaled by exuberant aromas…
Lodi wines are better than ever. In what ways are Lodi wines better? Number one, they’re fresher and purer than ever, not so much overripe, overly alcoholic, or overly oaked as many of them were just 10 or 15 years ago. Sure, many homegrown Lodi wines are still made in “commercial” styles. A good number…
Each spring since 1980, the Lodi Grape Festival has been holding an early April wine festival on its fairgrounds. It is always the Lodi region‘s first large wine-tasting event of the year. This year, the 2024 Lodi Wine Festival takes place this coming Saturday, April 6. As always, it is held in the historic Ole…
An orchestra contained in a wine Let’s start by talking about a single Lodi-grown wine, which could very well be the most unusual wine in the world (no exaggeration), before getting to the vintner behind it. Today’s topic of interest is the 2023 Haarmeyer Wine Cellars Victor Weisser, Gemischter Satz ($28), which is a pale…
Just minutes before a virtual webinar coming out of London and hosted by The Old Vine Conference this past March 25, 2024, a distinguished British journalist named Tamlyn Currin—also widely known as the Sustainability and Senior Editor for JancisRobinson.com—peppered me with questions in preparation for her on-air introduction to recipients of 2024 Old Vine Hero…
March is Women’s History Month. We should, no doubt, celebrate the contributions of women to events and history every month, on each day of the year; but in its wisdom, U.S. Congress (in 1987) selected March as the month to celebrate the achievements of women towards our nation’s fortunes and destiny. The wine industry, however,…
When the first-ever scholarly book on Lodi winegrowing was published in 2022, an entire chapter was devoted to 130 grapes, complete with photographs, representing each and every variety commercially grown in the appellation. Re Lodi! The Definitive Guide and History of America’s Largest Winegrowing Region (2022, KitchenCinco Press). Almost immediately after this 400-page tome was…
In the seasonal rhythms of life, the cusp of spring (in 2024, coming up on March 19) is when the earth is exhaling, after months and months of breathing and holding still, conserving energy for the longer days, the warmer temperatures and brighter, more nourishing light. We respond in kind, walking, talking, singing organic extensions…
Tempranillo is not an obvious wine. Yet by now, you have had either a personal experience or have heard all about this red wine varietal, made from the cultivar of this name that is native to Spain. At least within the Lodi appellation, where the varietal has a place of little more importance than in…
California’s 2023 harvest, you might have heard, was problematic, especially in the Lodi appellation. In Lodi, the challenges were more economic than those of issues imposed by Mother Nature. It was, in short, a cooler-than-usual vintage. Theoretically, this is good, because Lodi is a warm climate winegrowing region. But as San Joaquin County Viticulture Farm…
About eight miles east of the City of Lodi, there is a short country lane called Tokay Colony Road, demarcated by Hwy. 88 to the west and N. Tully Rd. at its eastern end. It’s an interesting road because it was named for the grape variety called Tokay—more properly known by its full name, Flame…