Italian inspired wines & menu planned for SIP SAVOR LODI Harvest Dinner under Lodi Arch

Last year's SIP SAVOR LODI Harvest Dinner under Downtown Lodi's Lodi Arch

On the Friday night (6-9 PM) of September 25, 2015, Downtown Lodi's Pine Street (just below the landmark Lodi Arch) becomes one big, long open-air dining room, in the finest wine country town tradition.

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Lodi's foreign legion (part 2)

Stama Winery owner/grower Konstantino "Gus" Kapiniaris

Continuing our stories of outstanding growers and winemakers born in far flung places, and now fully immersed in the Lodi Viticultural Area's rich culture of winegrowing:

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Lodi's foreign legion (part 1)

Harinder and Bobby Dhaliwal, who came to Lodi with their family from Punjab, India in 1983

They are, of course, no longer “foreigners,” but more correctly, foreign-born winemakers and growers who are now fully immersed in the Lodi winegrowing industry, contributing immensely to the community.

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What makes Lodi special? For Markus Bokisch, it's newfound

Markus Bokisch walking over cobbly clay terrain in Lodi's Cosumnes River AVA; site of one of Bokisch Ranches' latest vineyard plantings.

Is there any winegrower more sold on the Lodi Viticultural Area than Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Ranches?

Mr. Bokisch first started to come to Lodi during the early 1990s, while fulfilling his job of sourcing “Rhône Ranger” grapes (i.e. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Viognier, etc.) for Joseph Phelps Vineyards’ Vin du Mistral program (since deactivated).

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What makes Lodi special? For Mike McCay, it's the excavation of ancient vines

McCay Cellars owner/winemaker Mike McCay

If you ask Mike McCay, the winemaker/owner of McCay Cellars, about what makes Lodi special, he’s going to want to talk about ancient vines and Zinfandel; which, after all, are his specialty.

But Zinfandel grows well all over California; and certainly, ancient vine plantings in places like Sonoma, Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Mendocino, Contra Costa, the Sierra Foothills or elsewhere do not take a backseat to plantings in any other region, including Lodi.

So what does make ancient vine Zinfandel in Lodi different, besides the fact that Lodi has a lot more acreage of these plantings (vineyards planted 50, 75, even over 100 years ago) than other regions?

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What makes Lodi special? For Borra's Markus Niggli, it's about

Borra Vineyards winemaker Markus Niggli with wintering Vermentino

What sets Lodi apart from other American Viticultural Areas? We asked Markus Niggli, the Swiss-born winemaker of Borra Vineyards. Borra is currently Lodi’s oldest continuously operating family winery (bonded in 1975). Yet today, Borra is known as Lodi’s most innovative winery – a reputation garnered almost since the first day, in 2006, when third generation Lodi grower/founder Steve Borra welcomed Mr. Niggli onboard.

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