Lodi's fascinating history as a Johnny-come-lately wine region

Japanese leaf thinning crew; Lodi, circa 1945

Since 1991 the Lodi Winegrape Commission has diligently worked to fulfill one of its original mandates: raising awareness of the intrinsic quality of Lodi Viticultural Area grown wine grapes, now evidenced by the ascendant quality of Lodi wines.

But the evidence hasn't always been readily apparent. Significant wines with Lodi on the label did not even appear on the market until the mid-1990s; a good 10 to 30 years after other West Coast wine regions – from Washington’s Columbia Valley all the way down to Santa Barbara – were established as sources of premium quality grapes and wines.

Oct 21, 2015 at 3:25 PM Permalink

Neyers' Lodi Zinfandel is making waves across the country

Rocky gravelly-clay hillside terroir of Vista Luna Vineyard in Lodi's Borden Ranch AVA

It is always a big deal when a Napa Valley producer like Neyers Vineyards comes out with another Lodi grown Zinfandel of dreamy, sumptuous quality.

Oct 16, 2015 at 12:59 PM Permalink

Victor Vineyards, Lodi's latest award winning producer

Victor Vineyards grower/owner Rob Lawson among +100-year-old Dixon Vineyard Zinfandel

Why did the chicken cross the road? In the miniature CDP of Victor, located just outside the City of Lodi on the east side of the Lodi appellation’s Mokelumne River AVA, there’s an old story about a rooster known to cross Hwy. 12 E. (Victor Rd.) during each harvest to sip the latest vintages. 

Oct 9, 2015 at 12:05 PM Permalink

Colorful lug labels tell the history of Lodi's grape packing industry

Fresh field packed Valley Beauty Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in 2014

Robert Mondavi’s family found their earliest fortunes as Lodi grape packers, not as winemakers. Mondavi’s father, Cesare Mondavi, emigrated from Central Italy’s Marche region (between Umbria and the Adriatic Sea) to Minnesota, and then brought his family to the Lodi area in 1922, at a time when Prohibition was dramatically boosting sales of fresh-packed grapes to markets across the nation.

Oct 6, 2015 at 2:45 PM Permalink Comments (2)

Top Elk Grove chef/restaurateur finds

Todo un Poco chef/owner Marie Mertz tasting just-picked ancient vine Zinfandel in Lodi

Marie Mertz is a restaurateur/chef who lives and works in Elk Grove, one of California's most rapidly growing cities, located just south of Sacramento. But up until last week, she never really spent time in Lodi wine country; barely a 20-minute drive from the doorway of her popular restaurant, called Todo un Poco.

Oct 2, 2015 at 12:45 PM Permalink

Sommeliers discover Lodi's many wine industry innovations

Dropped Tannat grapes between the rows in Alta Mesa-Lodi's Silvaspoons Vineyard, still waiting to be harvested last week

One question brought up from last week’s visit of 28 sommeliers from across the country to the Lodi Viticultural Region was this: do sommeliers’ preferences truly reflect the tastes of American consumers?

Sep 24, 2015 at 2:25 PM Permalink

What top sommeliers are saying about Lodi

In Mohr-Fry Ranch, Honolulu sommelier Ivy Nagayma (center) and Elk Grove's Marie Mertz (right) being shown how to field-sort grapes

These wines deserve to be in the same league with any region, any varietal, on the world wine stage. - David Kristiansen (Lead Sommelier, The Lodge at Pebble Beach)

What do sommeliers think about Lodi wines? Up until recently, probably not much, since the idea of artisanal style Lodi grown wine is still a relatively new concept, for wine professionals and consumers alike. Sommeliers are just beginning to hear about this as well, despite the fact that there is very little about the world of fine wines that today’s average sommelier doesn’t know about.

Sep 22, 2015 at 2:05 PM Permalink

Ripken picks Sagrantino, another road-less-travelled grape

Richard "Rip" Ripken sampling his newly planted Sagrantino grapes

Early this morning (Thursday, September 10), Richard “Rip” Ripken was out in his 400-acre Guard Road Ranch picking his first crop of a grape called Sagrantino.

Sagrantino, you say? Yes, this is a very rare grape in California; growing in only four other vineyards in the state, as far as we know, and probably adding up to barely an acre, all-told.

Sep 10, 2015 at 4:00 PM Permalink

Photo-log of 2015 Lodi wine grape harvest

Winemaker Greg La Follette (Sonoma's La Follette Wines), blessing 2015 Zinfandel harvest from Royal Tee Vineyard (planted on Lodi's west side in 1889) with a bagpipe rendition of "Scotland the Brave" (to listen, visit Heralding Lodi's 2015 Zinfandel Harvest)

It's exhausting, but you never tire of it:  the yearly grand spectacle of the wine harvest in Lodi wine country.

Sep 4, 2015 at 3:52 PM Permalink

Reports on 2015 Lodi harvest are super-positive thus far

Harney Lane winemaker Chad Joseph is excited about the "perfect" quality of the 2015 Lodi Zinfandel fruit thus far

September 2, 2015 - The Lodi Viticultural Area’s 2015 harvest – which, as in much of California, kicked off in late July – is now entering its second month. This week we asked a few growers and winemakers for their assessments thus far.

Sep 2, 2015 at 3:06 PM Permalink Comments (1)