Your game plan for Lodi’s “First Sip”
Block out November 13 & 14 on your calendars for Lodi’s annual THE FIRST SIP!
The one wine region that holds an all-weekend party allowing visitors to preview wines from the spanking new vintage (this year: 2010s!) just days after coming off the vine?
What is: Lodi, of course! Comparing visiting Lodi with most other wine regions is like kissing a boy or girl: you can either catch pneumonia or fall in love. In most places, when you walk into a tasting room, you get the putyourmoneydownautomatonattitude from the usual hourly employee. In Lodi, you’re almost always warmly greeted by a winemaker, an owner or some member of the family who has a personal stake in the business, and can speak intelligently from that perspective about the wines.
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Oct 30, 2010 at 6:32 PM
PermalinkZintastic Lodi Wine & Art Auction
“Gala” doesn’t quite describe Artisan Masters’ Lodi Wine & Art Auction that took place in Lodi’s Hutchins Street Square this past Saturday (10/23). How about, say, an extra-sensory, fantastical, phantasmagoric vinous adventure? The eye opening spices and vividly flavorful barrels of ’09 and 2010 Zinfandels presented by twenty of Lodi’s top wineries certainly made many of our tongues skip such a light fandango.
Continue » Oct 27, 2010 at 6:23 PMTokay & Zinfandel’s affair to remember
One of our most illuminating conversations during the 2010 harvest – pretty much wrapped up, here in Lodi, by almost everyone just before the rain this past weekend (10/23-24) – was with Jonathan Wetmore. Mr. Wetmore owns the boutique sized Grands Amis Winery; and his vineyard management company, called Round Valley Ranches, has been farming grapes for other wineries (currently, over 2,000 acres for folks like Jesse’s Grove, Bogle, Delicato, E&J Gallo, Geyser Peak, and many more) since 1976.
Continue » Oct 24, 2010 at 6:14 PMWhy Lodi Zinfandel rocks
Zinfandel is Lodi’s pièce de resistance at the Lodi Wine & Art Auction…
In our first seminar at Lodi’s memorable Treasure Island WineFest this past 10/10/10, we addressed the amazingly innovative, alternative style wines coming out of Lodi today. Wines like the…
- lithe and lively, silken textured 2008 Uvaggio Vermentino
- Chrismas pudding-plump, zesty 2007 Ripken Primitivo
- remarkably supple, profusive, yet acidity charged 2008 Grands Amis Barbera
- dark, exotic, hugely recherché 2008 St. Jorge Alicante Bouschet
- monumentally full, chiseled yet opulently fruited 2006 Jesse’s Grove Ancient Vine Carignane
Oct 19, 2010 at 6:10 PM2010 Lodi harvest: rhapsody in red
Rock ‘n rollin’ with Round Valley Ranches, Jesse’s Grove and Borra Vineyards
While taking a taco truck break with his pickers last week (first week of October) at Egger Vineyard, a stand of 20 year old head trained Zinfandel vines on the north side of Peltier Rd., Jonathan Wetmore ventured an opinion: “All the wineries have been happy so far with the quality of the 2010 harvest.” This, you must know, is somewhat of an understatement, considering the joyous whooping and hollering we’ve actually been hearing among those in Lodi’s oenological profession.
Continue » Oct 14, 2010 at 6:06 PMSweet times on Treasure Island
Oh, the water… – Van Morrison
Some 1,500 Bay Area and Delta wine lovers will always remember 10/10/10, when picture perfect clear blue skies, the sonic booms of Blue Angels, and 45 of Lodi’s best wineries talked their walk while marching out their incredibly rich, fine and varied wines on Treasure Island during the 2nd Annual Treasure Island WineFest: Lodi Wine on the Water.
Continue » Oct 12, 2010 at 5:53 PMLodi’s cutting-edge at Treasure Island
Jose Ortiz working Jesse's Grove's old vines (photo by Jon Bjork)
One thing you will find for sure at the Treasure Island WineFest – Lodi on the Water: Lodi is a lot more than about Zinfandel. There’s a plethora of fine wine grapes, from A to Z, that are grown and made into delicious wines in this Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta influenced region. Some of these grapes are extremely fascinating in lineage and provenance — just the thing for jaded palates, tired of the sea of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and even Pinot Noir dominating our markets. Lodi, in short, is also all about the cutting-edge…
Continue » Oct 7, 2010 at 5:39 PMLodi: wine’s (hidden) Treasure Island
Why the Treasure Island WineFest is an absolute must for zin lovers…
Continue » Oct 5, 2010 at 5:32 PMThe Treasure Island wine seminars
Remember 10/10/10!
On October 10, 2010 the 2nd annual Treasure Island WineFest – Lodi on the Water in the San Francisco Bay will feature over 200 Lodi appellation wines, offered by over 45 wineries.
Continue » Oct 1, 2010 at 5:27 PM