Phenomenal three-way blends made from Lodi grapes by Sandlands, McCay, Marchelle and Neyers

Three winemakers now producing phenomenal red wine blends in one of their primary vineyard sources, Spenker Ranch's 1900 Carignan block: (from left) Marchelle Wines' Greg La Follette, Neyers Vineyards' Tadeo Borchardt and Sandlands Wines' Tegan Passalacqua.

Believe it or not, some of the finest red wines to come out of Lodi over the past few years have not been varietal or even single-vineyard wines coming from, say, heritage Zinfandel sites. Lately, it's been blends of different grape varieties, grown in separate vineyards, that have been the most impressive...

Oct 27, 2021 at 3:00 PM Permalink

Tokay series fine sandy loam, part 2 — sandy loam vs. loamy sand

Phillips Farms viticulturist and Michael Klouda Wines owner/winemaker Michael Klouda walking through the extremely fine, fluffy Tokay series sandy loam soil on the east side of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA.

Continued from Tokay fine sandy loam, part 1 — the Mokelumne River's defining natural features

Taxonomic profile of Tokay series fine sandy loam

Soil series taxonomy in the United States was originally developed by the USDA for the purposes of agricultural advisory. Over 14,000 different soil types have been identified. According to the information on Tokay series fine sandy loam soil found in usda.gov...

Oct 21, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Tokay fine sandy loam, part 1 — the Mokelumne River's defining natural feature

Indigenous valley oak and old vine Zinfandel on the west side of Lodi's Mokelumne River appellation.

The historic environment of valley oaks and grapes

Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA — an American Viticultural Area (i.e., AVA) established in 2006 by the TTB along with six other Lodi sub-appellations — is defined primarily by one common factor: Its deep (as much as 90 feet), porous yet high vigor soil, classified by the USDA as Tokay series fine sandy loam...

Oct 18, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Burning questions about appreciating old vine wines

2021 Zinfandel harvest in Lodi's Rous Vineyard, originally planted on St. George rootstocks in 1909.

As a follow-up to our previous post on Why everyone loves old vines, some answers to pertinent questions usually brought up in discussions about old vine wines...

Oct 12, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Why everyone loves old vines

Winter pruning of old vines (planted between the 1920s and 1940s) in Stampede Vineyard, one of Lodi's premier old vine Zinfandel plantings.

Of all the different sides of Lodi winegrowing, none is more compelling than the region's old vines. There is beauty, to begin with it, in the thick, creviced, tree-like trunks of vines over 50 years old, and in their long, sturdy, twisting, muscular arms, or "spurs." There is beauty in each vine's story, what we know of them or what we just imagine. Older vines have histories, and the more we know, know, know about them the more we love, love, love them. 

So let's learn more about old vines. At least, those of the Lodi Viticultural Area, where thousands of acres of old plantings have been thriving since as far back as the 1800s (although, granted, in the late 1800s the vines considered "ancient" today were still young bucks). For starters...

Oct 8, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Zinfandel is the ideal autumnal wine

2021 Zinfandel harvest on the east side of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA.

Zinfandel is the ideal autumn sipper. Make that quaffer. Why fool around?

Why Zinfandel? Because it is one of the few red wines with a propensity for spice qualities in the nose and flavor. By spice, we mean a pungent quality ascribed to an aromatic compound called rotundone, the or sesquiterpene (or class of terpenes) responsible for the "spicy" or "peppery" aroma and taste commonly found, first and foremost, in peppercorns, but also in other plants like juniper, geranium, and various kitchen herbs... 

Oct 5, 2021 at 11:00 AM Permalink