The many faces of Lodi’s ZinFest

The only things outnumbering the delicious variety of Zinfandels and other outstanding Lodi grown wines at the 2011 ZinFest Wine Festival this past Saturday, May 14 were the blissed-out faces of the people who came from far and wide to enjoy this classic modern day Delta celebration.

Mr. Bokisch also observed that “the crowd makeup was more and more from out of the area,” citing one wine writer who came all the way from New York just to attend ZinFest. Co-proprietor Liz Bokisch says that “four women from Michigan came to Lodi for the weekend for their third ZinFest in a row,” and what impressed Ms. Bokisch “was that the Michigan visitors came to Lodi and didn’t package it with other California attractions.”

Is the popularity, and prestige, of Lodi wine exploding or what?

Here’s the best part: the Lodi wines were tasting extra rich and juicy this past weekend. Most certainly, Lodi wines are better than ever, but another factor was the unusually chilly 60 to 65 degree weather, heightened by breezes blowing off the surrounding Lodi Lake and Mokelumne River: whenever the water gods seemed to exhale, you could see the shivering revelers buttoning up their spring chic clothing or draping picnic blankets on their shoulders.

Whatever the case, the Lodi wines seemed to come across even smoother… and welcoming. Then again, there is one thing all wine connnoisseurs know: full bodied red wines taste better around 65 degrees — fruit qualities are accentuated, and sensations of alcohol diminished. By contrast, the 90 to 95 degree highs of past ZinFests have been less of an enhancement. Among the many vinous highlights at this year’s ZinFest:

• A lush, curvaceous, positively Rubenesque 2008 m2 Artist Series Zinfandel.
• Also by m2, the gushy, satin laced 2008 ZinFest Commemorative Zinfandel
• The deep, dark, chiseled, sensualist qualities of the 2009 Fields Family Big Red.
• The sassier, zestier, teenage-potty mouthed 2008 McCay Equity Zinfandel.

• A velvet robed, poised and elegantly scaled 2008 Vicarmont Merlot.
• A soft, strawberryish, woodsmoky 2008 Hybrid Pinot Noir made by Peltier Station.
• The silky smooth, fruit driven debut of d’Art Winery’s 2009 House of Zin.
• The bright, buoyant, electrically fruited 2008 Harney Lane Lodi Zinfandel.
• The unabatingly plush, round, fleshy 2009 Macchia Voluptuous Zinfandel.
• The star bright, levitating, black cherry fresh 2008 Bokisch Tempranillo.
• The bold, elegant, chocolate-blueberryish 2008 Mettler Cabernet Sauvignon.
• The sturdy, zesty, sexily Italianish 2009 St. Amant Barbera.

Oh, but there was more, much more… the aforementioned representing a few that seemed to characterize the many splendored qualities of today’s Lodi grown wines, along with the faces of these true-blue connoisseurs of such: