Continued from Story of an appellation—Part 7, Lodi’s iconic Mission Arch Dawn of a “Golden Age” Robert Mondavi was a Lodi Union High School graduate who will always be remembered for significant accomplishments in the wine industry. First, he convinced his father, Cesare Mondavi, a Lodi businessman who entered the grape industry during the early…
Guest post by Elvira Fonz Gutiérrez Elvira Fonz Gutiérrez is a Huesca, Spain-born, trilingual wine scholar who came to Lodi to complete her Master´s internship in the spring of 2023. Her plan was to stay for six months, but she has recently signed on for an additional year. During her time in Lodi, Gutiérrez achieved…
Continued from Story of an appellation—Part 6, the indelible impact of Lodi’s German community “If grapes are the pride of Lodi,” writes Ralph A. Clark in Lodi, Images of America, “then the Lodi Arch [often called Lodi’s Mission Arch] is its iconic symbol. The monument is the most recognized piece of architecture in the city,…
Continued from Story of an Appellation—Part 5, history of Lodi labor and Grape Festival memories The first German families In any conversation about the most important farming families in the Lodi winegrowing region, one particular ethnic group stands out above all else: Lodi’s German community. Germans, of course, were one of the many groups from…
Continued from Story of an appellation—Part 4, the Lodi populace from the 1800s to today The labor movement in Lodi Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), co-founder of United Farm Workers (UFW), is now enshrined as an American folk hero and firebrand spokesman for laborers of not just Hispanic descent, but also Filipinos and other Asian immigrants. In…
Continued from Story of an Appellation—Part 3, Lodi’s sister grapes and era of grape packers and cooperatives Lodi’s melting pot While the nineteenth-century founders of Lodi were farmers or entrepreneurs of European origin, arriving from other states or directly from Europe, the population of the region has always been a mix reflecting the entire nation’s…
Continued from Story of an appellation—Part 2, the origin of Lodi as a city and agricultural region Sister grapes—Flame Tokay and Zinfandel While virtually unknown outside of Lodi, pink-skinned Flame Tokay remains emblematic of the appellation because 1. It was the most widely planted variety of Vitis vinifera (i.e., the European family of wine grapes)…
Continued from Story of an appellation—Part 1, the first stewards of the land that would become Lodi The nineteenth-century settlement near the banks of the Mokelumne River couched between the California Delta and foothills of Sierra Nevada, would not become known as Lodi until 1874. It was originally called Mokelumne and officially established as a…
We never tire of telling the story of the Lodi appellation. Why should we? It is a history as rich and compelling as the ultra-fine sandy loam soils—the deepest and most consistent, by far, in the entire state of California, for that matter the entire U.S.—surrounding the City of Lodi. It is also a story…
I don’t know if you noticed, but last Saturday summer quietly slipped out the proverbial backdoor, making way for fall of 2023. September 23 marked the Autumnal Equinox, when the sun veered over the equator, causing the day to last approximately the same amount of time as night. Henceforth, daylight hours will shrink by about…
Ridgely Evers—called “Ridge” by friends, family, and colleagues—is excited by the two latest releases under his AVIVO Wines label: • 2022 AVIVO Ledbetter Family Lodi White ($20), crafted entirely from Vermentino grapes grown on an ultra-sandy riverbend bench site in Lodi‘s Clements Hills appellation. • 2021 AVIVO Ledbetter Family Lodi Red ($20), consisting almost entirely…
I recently came across an article entitled “What is natural wine?” in, of all places, National Geographic. Obviously, this publication is no longer just about science, geography, the experience of exotic places, or the phenomena of Mother Nature. Although there are many wines when you think of it, that can be phenomenal, and many of…
Today (September 15, 2023) is International Grenache Day. This morning, Lodi‘s Bokisch Vineyards, which specializes in Spanish grapes, has been sending out glad tidings: “Happy International Garnacha Day”—Garnacha being the Spanish word for Grenache. Most likely, in fact, the Grenache grape originated in Spain—a working theory ampelographers (i.e., grapevine scientists) based upon the fact that…
Nestled within the captivating landscapes of California’s past lie a series of artistic windows into history, encapsulating a phenomenon of vineyards that have become more than just sprigs in the ground, but more like elements of the earth itself. Here in Lodi, we call that phenomenon “old vines,” which are not like any old vineyards….
Thank you for your wine, California Thank you for your sweet and bitter fruits —Keith Richards/Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones) Strange and numerous fruits have been a thing in Lodi for longer than most people can remember. The region’s most widely planted grape over most of the past century, for instance, was a variety called…
Mother Nature can be cruel. Sometimes deadly; yet often, kind and benevolent. If you take the word of vintners and growers who have picking grapes over the past week—pretty much the start of the 2023 harvest—lately Mother Nature has been very kind. The proof, we are seeing, is already in the pudding. Rosy Outlook at…
I love alternative-style wines. They have kept my interest in wine perked up for the nearly 50 years that I’ve been working in wine-related industries. Otherwise, I’d be bored to tears. Still, I have to admit: Many of the alternative wines of today are no more original or innovative than conventional wines. Over and over…
There’s never any question about how important grapes are to the Lodi region’s economy, history, and culture. It’s everywhere. Clusters or vines festoon public landmarks and permanent displays, including the emblem on the sides of City of Lodi police cars. The Lodi High School football team is called the Flames—after Flame Tokay, once the region’s…
Look out, world, California is almost ready to become a Cava producer! California Cava, in actuality, is a misnomer, since Cava means “sparkling wine grown in Spain,” and California is obviously not Spain. Cava, in fact, is what is called a Denominación de Origen (DO), applicable only to sparkling wines made in one particular part…
The Lodi-based Victor Book Club has been around for less than five years, although during the first two years, it wasn’t called anything. It may not last much longer because, well, times change, people run out of steam or recalibrate, and all groups go through permutations. The Victor Book Club may even become mythical—something existing…
What happens during veraison During one particularly long, bumpy drive up on Mendocino Ridge, Marchelle winemaker/owner Greg La Follette once broke the monotony by telling this joke: “Have you heard about the winemaker who died and went to heaven? I haven’t either!” But I will tell you one thing that gets winemakers’ juices flowing: The…
“Ah, notice that smell?” asked Ron Silva, owner/grower of Silvaspoons Vineyards in Lodi‘s Alta Mesa AVA, as we puttered around his ranch in his Kubota RTV. “That’s the smell of money!” Mr. Silva was referring to the giant piles of compost he amasses, and lovingly nurtures, on his Sacramento County property, consisting of hayfields, grazing…
Last year (2022) marked Tegan Passalacqua’s twentieth year with Turley Wine Cellars; most of that time was spent as this iconic brand’s director of winemaking. 2022 was also the thirteenth vintage of Passalacqua’s personal brand, called Sandlands. Both Sandlands and Turley are significant to the Lodi appellation because of the two-way-street relationship between the brands…
Boy, it’s been a hot July. Everywhere. This, ironically, follows an unusually cool month of June in Lodi wine country. In fact, a cooler than normal first six months of the year. Whatever the case, everyone’s talking about climate change, even outside political contexts. It doesn’t matter what you think. There have been significant shifts…