Lodi Decembers in living color

December in Lodi: ancient Zinfandel, distant barns and gold on plum-gray sunsets

When gloomy gray Decembers are roused to Christmas mirth,

The dullest life remembers there once was joy on earth,

And draws from youth’s recesses

Some memory it possesses,

And, gazing through the lens of time, exaggerates its worth,

When gloomy gray December is roused to Christmas mirth...

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox (Christmas Fancies)

For Christmas mirth in Lodi, all we need do, even during the grayest and dampest of days, is look outside our windows. When you live in Lodi wine country - with over 100,000 acres of wine grapes planted, easily the most widely planted wine region in North America - sometimes it's easy to overlook Nature's annual show of joy and colors. 

Dec 23, 2015 at 6:00 AM Permalink Comments (1)

How Lodi saved the wine world in 2015

Markus Bokisch teaching sommeliers about vine morphology in his Vista Luna Vineyard

This past November 2015 Lodi’s Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Ranches was named one of the 20 Most Admired Grapegrowers in North America by the respected industry publication, Vineyard & Winery Management.

Dec 21, 2015 at 6:00 AM Permalink Comments (1)

Toasted Toad's Lodi wines are as adventurous as its winemakers

Toasted Toad's daughter/father team Laura and Jeff Werter in their Downtown Lodi winery

Last week, speaking in his Downtown Lodi winery and tasting room, Toasted Toad Cellars Owner/Assistant Winemaker Jeff Werter told us, “It’s been 4 years, 1 month and 5 days since we opened, and we’ve loved every minute of it.”

Dec 16, 2015 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Oak Ridge Winery is taking destiny into its own farmers' hands

The Lodi natives behind Oak Ridge Winery: Raquel Maggio-Casity, Rudy Maggio and Shelly Maggio-Woltkamp

Quietly, effectively – almost like a stealth craft the size of a long-range B-52 – there is one Lodi grower/winery that has been compiling a stellar record of fine, consistent, dependably well-priced wines available in not just every state, but also around the world.

Dec 9, 2015 at 7:00 AM Permalink

New winemakers, new styles and wines at Van Ruiten Family Vineyards

The Van Ruiten Family team: Ron Justice (Assistant Winemaker), Bill Rogan (President/GM) and John Giannini (Winemaker)

There are some subtle yet significant changes afoot at Van Ruiten Family Vineyards & Winery. "VR" is not just one of the Lodi Viticultural Area’s most consistent wine producers, but also one of the region’s largest vineyard holders (most of what the Van Ruiten family grows actually goes to other wineries).

Dec 4, 2015 at 7:00 AM Permalink Comments (1)

John Curley's fantastical Lodi images and impressions

Oak Farm Vineyards and winery during a September sunset

“Keeping things alive forever” is how California photographer John Curley (please visit johncurleyphotographer.com) describes his ambition whenever he looks through the peephole of his camera.

This past September Mr. Curley was in Lodi wine country to photograph the Lodi Harvest SOMM Camp, co-sponsored by the Lodi Winegrape Commission and the restaurant trade magazine, The SOMM Journal.

Dec 2, 2015 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Oak Farm's contemporary style Grenache and Indigenous Zinfandel are perfect for Thanksgiving

Chad Joseph and Dan Panella of Oak Farm Vineyards

It’s been a good year for the Panella family of Oak Farm Vineyards. Visit Lodi! named Oak Farm their “Winery of the Year.” And also this past spring, the 2014 Oak Farm Lodi Albariño ($19) received a unanimous Double Gold and was named “Best in Show White” as well as “Best in Region White” at the 2015 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

Nov 23, 2015 at 5:00 AM Permalink

Estate Crush's quintessentially "Lodi" wines

Estate Crush's Bob Colarossi and Alison Leibich Colarossi

When Bob Colarossi and Alison Liebich Colarossi plan their Thanksgiving libations, they literally get to choose from over 90 different wines that they produce in their Downtown Lodi winery, called Estate Crush.

Nov 18, 2015 at 4:00 AM Permalink

Appreciating endangered ancient vines during National Zinfandel week

2015 Zinfandel ready to be picked off Maley family's 57-year-old Wegat Vineyard in Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA

Wednesday, November 18, 2015 is National Zinfandel Day.

Who thinks of these days anyway? International Tempranillo Day was just last week (November 12), right on the heels of International Merlot Day (November 7). We’re drinking as fast as we can, folks!

Nov 16, 2015 at 6:00 AM Permalink Comments (2)

Where Lodi fits in the latest American Wine Consumer Preference survey

According to the latest Preference Survey, women and Millennials are now the predominant wine consumers

Americans are funny. Wine retailers know this, because they always hear customers say that they prefer “dry” wines, and then watch them walk out the door with the fruitiest, sweetest wines.

Nov 12, 2015 at 10:17 AM Permalink Comments (2)