Markus Bokisch looks back at 2012

Markus Bokisch tastes 2012 Verdelho harvest in his Vista Luna Vineyard

Here at the end of 2012, it makes sense to catch up with Markus Bokisch, whose Bokisch Ranches have become one of the most important vineyard management companies in the Lodi American Viticultural Area (a.k.a. AVA).

Bokisch Ranches is not the largest grower in Lodi – that would be companies like LangeTwins Family, John Kautz Farms, Vino Farms, the Dosio family’s Pacific Agri Lands, and a few others – but they are significant because of their upward growth despite increasing economic barriers (2,200 bearing acres of wine grapes, with another 900 acres in development), and because they sell to such a large number of specialty wineries throughout the state, who also tend to garner the most press...

Dec 27, 2012 at 4:22 PM Permalink

Wine tasting is mind tasting

Wine tasting in Downtown Lodi's Estate Crush

When you taste wine or food, are you tasting with your nose and mouth, or your mind?

Consider this:  in India, Hindu customers once marched against a dozen locations of McDonald’s; where, because of dietary restrictions, McDonald’s sells no beef product (only vegetable and lamb burgers).  What raised their ire?  They had heard about a lawsuit in the U.S. brought by a group of vegetarians against McDonald’s for flavoring their fries with a “natural flavor” derived from beef extract, which they the Hindus were also unknowingly consuming (see New York Times Archives on McDonald’s eventual settlement)...

Dec 20, 2012 at 5:06 PM Permalink

The perfect holiday refresher: Sorelle Vin Brulé

The Sorelle estate, on the site of the historic Dodge House

In recent weeks, lucky visitors to Sorelle Winery have been treated to a special drink:  a classic mulled (or “spiced”) wine that Mike Scott and his family – owners and growers of this outstanding Lodi AVA winery, specializing in Italian varietals – have been calling Sorelle Vin Brulé...

Dec 18, 2012 at 5:37 PM Permalink

An ultimate Christmas gift: Lodi’s 12 most interesting wines of 2012

For Christmas, what do you give a Lodi wine lover who’s tried everything?  A full case (12 bottles) of Lodi’s 12 finest wines, of course.

Herein lies the dilemma:  the Lodi wine industry has recently reached the point where it is simply an impossibility to pick Lodi’s “12 finest wines.”  There’s just too darned many of them!

Dec 11, 2012 at 5:48 PM Permalink

Visit Estate Crush for wines as plump as Christmas

Estate Crush partners Alison and Bob Colarossi, and (middle) Nick Sikeotis toast the opening of Lodi's newest tasting room

Have a hankering to taste some super hand crafted Lodi grown wines this weekend?  Estate Crush — Lodi’s 16,000 square foot custom crush facility — will quietly open its tasting room this weekend (Dec. 10-11, 12-5 PM) at the corner of Lockeford and Sacramento (the north end of Downtown Lodi)...

Dec 9, 2012 at 8:41 PM Permalink

Does price (and letting wines “breathe”) matter?

Does price affect the “quality” of wine?  Yes, indeed it do.

At least according to results of a study that was released back in 2008, conducted by Antonio Rangel, Associate Professor of Economics at the California Institute of Technology (as reported by the Stanford Business Web site).  In this study, Rangel asked volunteers to blind-taste 5 different bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, and then rate their preferences. Rangel ran this taste test 15 times with 15 different groups, and the wines were always presented in random order...

Dec 7, 2012 at 6:01 PM Permalink

Lodi’s winemakers analyze 12 of their top 2010 Zinfandels

Lodi winemakers blind tasting 2010 vintage Zinfandels

What happens when you take 11 of Lodi’s best winemaker/growers, and sit them down at one table to blind-taste their own Zinfandels?

In early November we did exactly that, in the Cellar Room of Lodi’s posh Wine & Roses Hotel & Spa.  Our focus was on Zinfandels from the 2010 vintage:  a year that has been characterized by more than a few winegrowers as very “North Coast” – meaning, a year of significantly cooler than normal weather throughout the growing season (only one day hitting 100° F. – fewer than what Napa Valley experienced in 2010)...

Dec 4, 2012 at 6:13 PM Permalink