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.
ZAP’s annual San Francisco tasting ushering the arrival of Zinfandel as a serious grape
In 1991, when ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) held the first of its annual tasting extravaganzas in San Francisco, there was little inkling of just how big an event it would become. All the original organizers knew is that Zinfandel – a cultivar singled out by California’s winegrowing pioneers as far back as the 1850s – was in danger of becoming an under-appreciated grape, and they wanted to exhibit an unprecedented show of unity in support of this varietal wine, while offering consumers an opportunity to experience the best of them in one place.
Continue »Our best and most interesting blogposts from 2014
Happy 2015!
We’re looking forward to another year of exciting achievements by the Lodi winegrowing community. But before embarking towards this bright new horizon, we thought it worthwhile to take another look back at our favorite, and most informative, blogposts from 2014: not so much out of fear of forgetting our past and being condemned to repeat it, but rather to sharpen our focus on the future with the clarity that invariably comes with hindsight.
Continue »Dale Goff’s favorite (and most spectacular) images of Lodi in 2014
Dale Goff of Goff Photography is one of Lodi’s most accomplished professional photographers. Mr. Goff, in fact, has been photographing the Lodi American Viticultural Area for going on 20 years.
Continue »Lodi wines compared to Texas wines, hats and cattle
Jeremy Wilson – a sommelier who writes the Texas Wine Lover site and lives in the officially recognized Texas Hill Country AVA (approved in 1991), where he works for Kuhlman Cellars – recently wrote to us, telling us that he believes the Lodi AVA has a lot in common with the Texas wine industry.
Continue »Lodi wines in the news in 2014
As we come to the end of another year in Lodi wine country, let's look back at some of the highlights of 2014 gleaned through widely read wine publications and blog sites.
Continue »Estate Crush is Downtown Lodi’s one-stop for numerous finely crafted brands
Attention, last-minute Lodi wine shoppers: Caught in the usual pre-Christmas time crunch? Then we have the perfect one-stop, direct-from-the-source solution for you: Downtown Lodi's Estate Crush.
Continue »Match made for December: Twisted Roots Petite Sirah & rosemary lamb shanks
You can look at the increasingly short, dark, dreary days of December in two different ways: as a doggoned shame, or as the perfect excuse to enjoy the type of wines and foods that these days call for.
Mike Hodge, co-owner of Twisted Roots Vineyard & Winery, has the perfect prescription for those who choose the positive course: the 2011 Twisted Roots Lodi Petite Sirah ($25) with rosemary lamb shanks. (Twisted Roots multi-award winning wines are available locally at Downtown Lodi's Estate Crush).
Continue »A Lodi wine lover’s wish list: Lodi’s 12 most adventurous wines
Is there a wiser wine lover than a Lodi wine lover?
Lodi is just beginning to forge its reputation as a source of some America's finest, and most cutting-edge, wines. Many of the leading producers in this respect have been around for less than ten, fifteen years.
Continue »Three things that matter (when getting the most out of wine)
GETTING SOME FUN OUT OF WINE
When most of us enjoy our wine, we don't like to think about it too much. We don't need to ooh and ah over the "bouquet," and we don't need to take tiny sips and roll the wine in our mouth for 60 seconds before pronouncing it good.
Continue »How to be your own judge of good wine
Burgundy, schmurgundy
I started out on Burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff. Not really. But that line from one of Bob Dylan's classic old songs (Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues) always sounded great.
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