Letters from Lodi
An insightful and objective look at viticulture and winemaking from the Lodi
Appellation and the growers and vintners behind these crafts. Told from the
perspective of multi-award winning wine journalist, Randy Caparoso.
Let us count the ways we love Lodi’s Wine & Chocolate Weekend
LODI’S 17th ANNUAL WINE & CHOCOLATE WEEKEND
February 8 & 9, 2014 | 11am – 4pm
Lodi Zinfandels from Kirschenmann Vineyard blow a few minds at 2014 ZAP
I’m going to grow my hair down to my feet so strange
'Til I look like a walking mountain range
Ride into Omaha on a horse
Out to the country club and golf course
Carrying the New York Times
Shoot a few holes, blow their minds…
- Bob Dylan's I Shall Be Free No. 10
Kirschenmann Vineyard – a prototypical, own-rooted east-side Lodi Zinfandel planting dating back to 1915 – made a memorable debut as a vineyard-designate bottling by five different prestige winemakers in the ballroom of the luxurious Four Seasons San Francisco last week Friday (January 24, 2014).
Continue »Giant leap taken by Lodi wines at 2014 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competiton
The results of the 2014 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition held earlier this month are in, and Lodi American Viticultural Area grown wines have fared better than ever!
Continue »Appreciate Zinfandels like Picassos at LoCA sponsored ZAP TERROIR TASTING
You won't need flowers in your hair – just a true-blue enthusiasm for Zinfandel – to fit right in with the thousands of other wine lovers who will be flocking to San Francisco to attend the 2014 ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) TERROIR TASTING, co-sponsored by LoCA… that is, The Wines of Lodi, California.
Continue »Three chicken dishes, endlessly surprising Lodi wine matches
Let's talk chicken and wine matches. ¿Por qué?
Continue »What a wine lover wants in 2014
What are wine lovers looking for in 2014? Whatever it is, you can be sure that the Lodi is in the thick of it — as America’s largest American Viticultural Area, it has to be. Let's break it down, according to some of the buzz we are hearing in the opening days of the New Year:
Continue »Best Lodi Wine Country photos of 2013 (part 2)
Welcome to 2014!
The second half of 2013 was dominated, of course, by the Lodi Wine Country harvest. Vintage 2013 was among the earliest on record: white wine and sparkling wine grapes — such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir — were being picked by the end of the first week of August, at least two weeks sooner than usual. More exotic white wine grapes — such as Albariño, Verdelho and Kerner (a German crossing of Riesling x Trollinger) — came in soon after. A warm summer had a lot to do with the hastened harvest; but mostly, it was because the spring bud break and flowering occurred at least two weeks earlier than usual.
Continue »