skip to main content

Lodi Winegrape Commission

  • Home
  • Wineries
  • About
  • Visit
    • Visitor Center
  • Club
  • Events
  • Store
    • LODI RULES Sustainable Certification
    • White Wines
    • Rosé Wines
    • Red Wines
    • Sparkling/Dessert Wines
    • Old Vine Wines
    • Merchandise
  • Blog
TOP

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.

Randy Caparoso
 
July 29, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

In Lodi, Christmas (a.k.a. veraison) comes in July

Zinfandel during July veraison in Harney Lane Winery's Lizzy James Vineyard

The objective of Vitis, or grape vines, from their very beginning – speculated as dating back over a million years ago, based upon evidence of fossilized leaves and seeds – has always been the same as that of humankind: to bear fruit and multiply.

The almost miraculous changes we see in black skinned varieties of Vitis vinifera – the European species of vines always known to produce the finest wines – during the month of July in the Northern Hemisphere is a reflection of that basic objective... 

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 29, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Permalink to In Lodi, Christmas (a.k.a. veraison) comes in July Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Randy Caparoso
 
July 25, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

In Lodi, to thine own terroir be true

Zinfandel cluster from 127-year old vines in Jessie's Grove's Royal Tee Vineyard

What is terroir, and why is everyone talking about it?

When writing about why Lodi was chosen as their 2015 Wine Region of the Year, Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Jim Gordon cited a number of achievements; including how the region has recently achieved “parity with better-known coastal regions,” yet how “grapes and wine were already in Lodi’s DNA before the current era... (when) the first major vineyard was planted in 1852.”

One of the things Mr. Gordon also noted was the “naked style Zinfandels" produced by the Lodi Native project. The good thing about the Lodi Native Zinfandels, San Francisco Chronicle’s Jill Robinson recently wrote, is that they “highlight terroir, along with Lodi’s heritage Zinfandel plantings and growers.” The Lodi Native winemakers have been putting together a series of “single-vineyard Zinfandels,” added Christopher Null in his DRINKHACKER blog, “with the intent of showcasing Lodi’s terroir"...

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 25, 2016 at 1:00 PM
Permalink to In Lodi, to thine own terroir be true Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Randy Caparoso
 
July 21, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

The fine summer art of enjoying red wine with fish

It may be summer, but that doesn't mean every wine aficionado is reaching for white or pink wines. Red wine lovers are red wine lovers, and they're not going to let little things like 90-degree temperatures keep them from enjoying their preference.

Oh, they may make little adjustments, like going to slightly lighter reds; or easing up a little bit on red meat consumption (unless they're manning an outdoor grill). Be as it may, it is as good a time as any to revisit the notion of consuming red wine with fish. Not everyone, of course, has caught up with this.

But seriously, enjoying red wine with fish is not nearly as strange as it may seem. Fact of the matter is, there are many instances when a red wine tastes better with a seafood dish of some sort than any white wine or rosé. Why? Because as much as white wines with fish and red wines with red meat makes sense, not all seafood dishes are the same, and not all wines – reds, whites, pinks or sparklers – are either...

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 21, 2016 at 7:30 AM
Permalink to The fine summer art of enjoying red wine with fish Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Randy Caparoso
 
July 18, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

Lodi & state of wine blogging to be addressed at 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference

Popular erudite blogger Elaine Brown (wakawakawinereviews) spreadng the word on Torrontés grown in Lodi by Silvaspoons Vineyards' Ron Silva (right)

Next month on August 11 through 13, 2016, Lodi wine country will be invaded by several hundred online wine scribes gathering for the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference. This will be a “9th Annual” – earlier Wine Bloggers Conferences, starting in 2008, happening in places like Santa Rosa, Portland, Walla Walla, New York’s Finger Lakes, Charlottesville in Virginia, and Penticton in British Columbia, Canada.

Wine blogging, winefolly.com once posted in 2013, has got to be “the world’s drunkest job.” But like Julie (Powell) in Julie & Julia, wine bloggers tend to be unremittingly passionate in their pursuit of the fermented grape; and forever hopeful that they, too, may someday wear the golden fleece accorded best selling authors or internationally acclaimed journalists. Indeed, some (albeit precious few) have managed to don some coat or another.

But mostly, these dedicated followers of vinous fashion perform a function, wrought by the internet age, involving the dispensing of knowledge and enthusiasm in a wine world that not too long ago was dominated exclusively by just a handful of periodicals and the few authors who seem to retain a stranglehold on all major book contracts (ever notice that the titles in book store wine sections are all authored by the same handful of writers?). Wine bloggers have democratized wine appreciation, which is a good thing. Power to the wine peeps...

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 18, 2016 at 4:02 PM
Permalink to Lodi & state of wine blogging to be addressed at 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Randy Caparoso
 
July 14, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

Lodi Winegrape Commission marks 25 years of unprecedented success

(photo courtesy of John Curley Photography)

Lodi is, like, weird. That is to say, this sprawling wine region (by far the largest in the U.S., with over 110,000 acres of planted wine grapes, and counting...) is led by an organization of grape growers and wineries collectively known as the Lodi Winegrape Commission.

Pursuant to the State of California Department of Food & Agriculture's Marketing Act of 1937, winegrape commissions are funded by annual assessments of the gross value of winegrape crops. In the case of Lodi, every commercial grape grower within California Grape Crush District 11 is compelled to join. While mandated programs like this are not a choice thing, each grower recognizes the shared benefits of marketing and promotion of the region’s grapes, the viticultural research and sustainable grape growing (i.e. Lodi Rules) programs, exposure of wines and the region as a destination through aggressive media and consumer campaigns, and ultimately, profitability for all...

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 14, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Permalink to Lodi Winegrape Commission marks 25 years of unprecedented success Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Randy Caparoso
 
July 7, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

Verdelho is Lodi's gift to summer living

Verdelho harvest in Lodi's Silvaspoons Vineyards

What do Americans eat during summer? If you go to Sunset Magazine’s latest page proclaiming Fast & Fresh Summer Meals, you find a list of over three-dozen dishes with recipes for...

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 7, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Permalink to Verdelho is Lodi's gift to summer living Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Randy Caparoso
 
July 5, 2016 | Randy Caparoso

Lodi's Mediterranean climate makes it ideal for rosé

The ideal dry rosè is scented but not overly fruity in the nose; fluid and a little fleshy in the mouth without being soft, hard or harsh with excess alcohol or tannin; and nuanced with sensory qualities other than plain fruit, like smidgens of kitchen herbs or minerals. 

In recent years, as Lodi's small community of artisanal wineries has come to fruition, we have been seeing more and more Lodi grown rosés crafted almost effortlessly to achieve these ideal qualities. Surely this cannot be a fluke. And it isn't. The reason is a set of geological circumstances which make Lodi similar in a number ways to the region where more rosé is produced than in any other part of the world: France's Provence, the source of over 1 million cases of dry pink wine each and every year.

  Continue »

Time Posted: Jul 5, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Permalink to Lodi's Mediterranean climate makes it ideal for rosé Permalink
Tweet
Pin It
Blog Search
Recent Posts
  • January 13, 2021
    Alternative style Lodi wines reflecting the wave of the future — part 2, new interpretations of heritage grapes
  • January 11, 2021
    Alternative style Lodi wines reflecting the wave of the future — part 1, an unfamiliar white and red
  • January 5, 2021
    Discerning wines of the immediate future through what we know about the past and what's going in Lodi
  • December 29, 2020
    Lodi 2020: The year in pictures
  • December 27, 2020
    The small steps of Lodi growers led to giant leaps for Lodi wine country
  • December 22, 2020
    Looking on the bright side of fading old vine plantings in Lodi
  • December 17, 2020
    Our list of nice Lodi reds, rosés and fortified dessert wines for Christmas gifting and sipping
  • December 15, 2020
    A Lodi white makes the world's Top 100 list, and other Lodi whites for Christmas shopping and sipping
  • December 9, 2020
    The 1980s and 1990s — start of Lodi wine country's modern era
  • December 3, 2020
    The original Lodi Natives — the Plains Miwok
Our Writers
  • Randy Caparoso (803)
Blog Archives
2021
  • January 2021 (3)
2020
  • December 2020 (7)
  • November 2020 (7)
  • October 2020 (6)
  • September 2020 (7)
  • August 2020 (7)
  • July 2020 (7)
  • June 2020 (8)
  • May 2020 (8)
  • April 2020 (8)
  • March 2020 (8)
  • February 2020 (6)
  • January 2020 (6)
2019
  • December 2019 (7)
  • November 2019 (6)
  • October 2019 (6)
  • September 2019 (5)
  • August 2019 (5)
  • July 2019 (7)
  • June 2019 (6)
  • May 2019 (6)
  • April 2019 (6)
  • March 2019 (6)
  • February 2019 (5)
  • January 2019 (7)
2018
  • December 2018 (7)
  • November 2018 (7)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (6)
  • August 2018 (7)
  • July 2018 (8)
  • June 2018 (7)
  • May 2018 (9)
  • April 2018 (8)
  • March 2018 (9)
  • February 2018 (8)
  • January 2018 (8)
2017
  • December 2017 (6)
  • November 2017 (8)
  • October 2017 (10)
  • September 2017 (5)
  • August 2017 (6)
  • July 2017 (7)
  • June 2017 (6)
  • May 2017 (5)
  • April 2017 (7)
  • March 2017 (6)
  • February 2017 (5)
  • January 2017 (7)
2016
  • December 2016 (7)
  • November 2016 (8)
  • October 2016 (7)
  • September 2016 (7)
  • August 2016 (5)
  • July 2016 (7)
  • June 2016 (7)
  • May 2016 (6)
  • April 2016 (6)
  • March 2016 (7)
  • February 2016 (6)
  • January 2016 (5)
2015
  • December 2015 (8)
  • November 2015 (6)
  • October 2015 (7)
  • September 2015 (5)
  • August 2015 (6)
  • July 2015 (7)
  • June 2015 (6)
  • May 2015 (5)
  • April 2015 (6)
  • March 2015 (6)
  • February 2015 (7)
  • January 2015 (5)
2014
  • December 2014 (8)
  • November 2014 (5)
  • October 2014 (7)
  • September 2014 (5)
  • August 2014 (3)
  • July 2014 (5)
  • June 2014 (6)
  • May 2014 (7)
  • April 2014 (7)
  • March 2014 (5)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (7)
2013
  • December 2013 (8)
  • November 2013 (6)
  • October 2013 (7)
  • September 2013 (5)
  • August 2013 (6)
  • July 2013 (4)
  • June 2013 (4)
  • May 2013 (4)
  • April 2013 (5)
  • March 2013 (2)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (4)
2012
  • December 2012 (7)
  • November 2012 (9)
  • October 2012 (9)
  • September 2012 (7)
  • August 2012 (9)
  • July 2012 (8)
  • June 2012 (8)
  • May 2012 (9)
  • April 2012 (8)
  • March 2012 (9)
  • February 2012 (7)
  • January 2012 (9)
2011
  • December 2011 (7)
  • November 2011 (8)
  • October 2011 (7)
  • September 2011 (7)
  • August 2011 (8)
  • July 2011 (8)
  • June 2011 (9)
  • May 2011 (7)
  • April 2011 (9)
  • March 2011 (8)
  • February 2011 (8)
  • January 2011 (7)
2010
  • December 2010 (8)
  • November 2010 (6)
  • October 2010 (2)
  • September 2010 (6)
  • August 2010 (5)
Additional Resources
  • Media & Trade
  • Lodi Winegrape Commission
  • Donation Requests
  • Returns & Cancellations
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
Contact

Lodi Wine Visitor Center
2545 West Turner Road Lodi, CA 95242
209.365.0621
Open: Thursday - Sunday 12:00pm-5:00pm

Lodi Winegrape Commission
2545 West Turner Road, Lodi, CA 95242
209.367.4727
Open: Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm

Have a question? Complete our contact form.

  • © Copyright 2021 Lodi Winegrape Commission
  • Winery Ecommerce by WineDirect