Continued from The Mokelumne River Viticultural Area (part 1)
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Mar 28, 2015 at 11:35 AM
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Letters from Lodi
An insightful and objective look at viticulture and winemaking from the Lodi
Appellation and the growers and vintners behind these crafts. Told from the
perspective of multi-award winning wine journalist, Randy Caparoso.
April 29, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
Historic Vineyard Society tasting of Lodi’s rarest wines headlines 2015 ZinFest Wine School
ZinFest Wine School
Everybody loves a luscious Zinfandel, Lodi's signature wine, but Lodi ZinFest has always been about a lot more than Zinfandel. It's been about all the fascinating wines – from light and refreshing white and pink wines, to a joyful variety of savory reds – grown in this, the most widely planted American Viticultural Area in the U.S.
Continue » Apr 29, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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April 24, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
Lodi Zinfandel gets some “pizazz” from a Sonoma producer
2012 Carol Shelton Piazza Vineyard Pizazz Zin Lodi Zinfandel
What happens when a critically acclaimed Sonoma County based Zinfandel producer gets her hands on some Lodi grown fruit?
You get a wine like the newly minted 2012 Carol Shelton Piazza Vineyard Pizazz Zin Lodi Zinfandel ($19): a plump, verging on opulent, almost lascivious style of the varietal; teeming with cherry-bombish fruit coated in nostril tingling cocoa dust and almost piña colada-like sensations.
Continue » Apr 24, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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April 21, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
Klinker Brick aligns with two bold women-growers
Lodi grower Jean Rauser among her 109-year old Carignan plants
Special red wines grown by Lodi's Jean Rauser and Antoinette Celle
Klinker Brick Winery owner Steve Felten has recently aligned his farming operations with two of Lodi's more enterprising women-growers: Jean Rauser, the owner of Rauser Vineyard in the Victor area, east of the town of Lodi; and Antoinette Celle, owner of Celle Vineyard located at the southernmost edge of the Lodi Viticultural Area, near Linden.
Continue » Apr 21, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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April 15, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
2015 Lodi ZinFest – more fun than a barrel of floating winemakers!
2015 ZinFest poster
Where does the time go? Don’t look now, but the 2015 Lodi ZinFest Wine Festival is just 30 days away — happening this coming Saturday, May 16 (12-5 PM)!
Simply put, Lodi wine doesn’t get any funner than this yearly affair, taking place in the gorgeously lush “island” setting of Lodi Lake Park, amidst giant ancient weeping willows bowing beside blue refreshing waters of the Mokelumne River. Also as in previous years, over 40 of Lodi’s finest artisanal wineries will be pouring over 200 different Lodi grown wines — and not just Zinfandel!
Continue » Apr 15, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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April 6, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
White Zinfandel is back, and better (when seriously dry) than ever!
McCay Cellar Lodi Appellation White Zinfandel
The crying of Lot 13
Don't look now, but White Zinfandel may be back, and better than ever!
Continue » Apr 6, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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April 1, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
The Mokelumne River Viticultural Area (part 3) – Grapes, ungrafted vines, rags to riches
February pruning of 100-year old, own-rooted Kirschenmann Vineyard Zinfandel
Continued from: The Mokelumne River Viticultural Area (part 1 and part 2)
Continue » Apr 1, 2015 at 1:17 PM
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March 28, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
The Mokelumne River Viticultural Area (part 2) – winemakers talk dirty
Trench dug in the Mokelumne River AVA’s historic Bechthold Vineyard; showing the depth of fine sandy loam soil
Mar 28, 2015 at 11:35 AM
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March 26, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
The Mokelumne River Viticultural Area (part 1)
Bokisch Ranches’ Las Cerezas Vineyard (planted to Spanish varieties) in Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA
Boundaries, heart and soul
The Mokelumne River AVA (American Viticultural Area) is one of the seven sub-appellations located within the larger Lodi AVA established in August 2006 by the TTB (the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Tax and Trade Bureau).
Continue » Mar 26, 2015 at 12:07 PM
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March 18, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
Elegant styles of Lodi Zinfandel
2014 Zinfandel in McCay's Lot 13 Vineyard
In our previous post (Is Zinfandel breaking out?) we cited a number of wine industry professionals who truly believe that Zinfandel can be made in more restrained, elegant styles – not unlike the finest Pinot Noirs or Burgundies – and that, in fact, we are beginning to see a paradigm shift towards that direction.
What are some of the more elegant styles of Zinfandel coming out of the Lodi Viticultural Area today?
Continue » Mar 18, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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March 16, 2015 | Randy Caparoso
Is Zinfandel breaking out, or just a case of measles?
2015 ZAP Media & Trade Tasting
This past January 28-31, Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (a.k.a. ZAP) held its 24th full-scale "Experience" in San Francisco's Presidio, with the theme: Zinfandel is a rising star… reach out and grab it.
Zinfandel, of course, has always been a longtime star in the varietal market. In fact, Zinfandel's dominance in California vineyards dates back well nigh into the 1850s. So what exactly does ZAP mean with the implication that Zinfandel is still "rising?"
Continue » Mar 16, 2015 at 8:00 AM
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