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.
Fusion Fridays & Heritage Oak zins
BORRA’s Fusion Fridays culinary concert series Kindly recall what a long, cold, wet winter (what happened to spring?) we’ve just had here in the Delta: all the more reason to indulge in the long, warm, lustrous rays of summer’s sunsets… while you can! On the first Friday of Lodi’s fair weather months, Borra Vineyards celebrates its Fusion Fridays with live music and complimentary appetizers highlighting the Borra family’s favorite local restaurants. This Friday, July 1, at 5-7:30 PM, Frankie B Smooth Jazz (with guests, John and Jessica Ochoa) will take the stage under Borra’s towering willows, and Stockton’s Yasoo Yani..
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Jun 27, 2011 at 5:13 PM
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Update on 2011 Lodi wine crop
The real scoop, straight from the source… First things first: never believe everything you read, especially if you’re like most people when it comes to news reports – you only read the headlines and scan for the sensational words. California grape growers suffer a sobering spring, was the title of the Associated Press release printed in newspapers across the country earlier in the month (June 10), with doomsday phraseology pouring down like hard rain: “killer snow… hard freeze… dry-season downpours… sleepless nights… late precipitation… mildew…” and an accompanying photo taken of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles on June 6,..
Continue » Jun 23, 2011 at 5:27 PM
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Lodi wine country summer concerts
So mark your calendars, Lodi wine lovers, for the following upcoming can’t-miss events coming up through July (please note: in every venue, outside alcoholic beverages are not allowed, and you are invited to purchase wines by the bottle or glass at each winery): Fri. June 24 – Big Booty Bob at Lodi Cellar Door – Lodi’s most exquisite, and powerful, wines — those of Michael~David, Van Ruiten, Jessie’s Grove, and (the latest addition) Bokisch Vineyards — are always being poured at this elegantly furnished Downtown Lodi wine bar on historic School St., and as longtime San Joaquin County music and..
Continue » Jun 20, 2011 at 5:38 PM
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Last of the great unknowns
Little known Portuguese grapes that blow your mind… You can always tell the best winemakers: they are always the most curious, or just plain restless. It was his search for red wine alternatives to the big Zinfandels for which he had become known, eight years ago, that led Jeff Runquist — the winemaker/proprietor of Jeff Runquist Wines, based in Amador County — to Ron Silva, Lodi’s Portuguese grape king, and grower/proprietor of Silvaspoons Vineyards and Alta Mesa Wines. At first Runquist worked with Silvaspoons Vineyards Grenache, but soon after Silva convinced Runquist to also try his Lodi grown Touriga Nacional: ..
Continue » Jun 18, 2011 at 5:43 PM
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No Dangerfields at Barbera fest
The first ever Barbera Festival took place this past weekend, on June 11, in the foothills of Plymouth in Amador County. Skies were a bright baby blue, and the temperature warm but not scorching, as over 80 Barbera producers from all over California set up their tables under the walnut trees of Cooper Ranch, which has also become one of the most prestigious single vineyard designations in the Sierra Foothills AVA. For an inaugural event, it was nothing short of successful: over 1,800 wine lovers converged at this sold out event to celebrate this grape, which makes what many a..
Continue » Jun 14, 2011 at 5:49 PM
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What’s new at Lodi Farmers Market
For food and wine lovers, is there anything more chilling, yet strangely stimulating, than that explication enunciated by Anthony Hopkins’ Dr. Hannibal Lecter, in conversation with Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling, in The Silence of the Lambs? While these days fava beans are associated with very gourmet, very chichi, Italian cuisine, it’s actually a pretty basic, ancient staple — the fruit of a vetch resembling a monstrously sized pea, consumed for thousands of years by Europeans and Asians before more varieties of legumes were “discovered” in America — and the Lodi Farmers Market, which started its weekly run this past Thursday..
Continue » Jun 6, 2011 at 5:55 PM
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Lodi’s amazing Lucero Organic Farms
Slow Food Lodi visits with Lodi’s Lucero Organic Farms The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture Program) offered by Lodi’s own Lucero Organic Farms is now in full swing, offering you a choice of two box sizes ($19 per half share, $29 for a full) that can be picked up each Wednesday all the way through mid-December… and guaranteed: you will enjoy a staggering variety of the most exquisite tasting vegetables and fruits imaginable, all lovingly grown 100% organically by Ben, Karen and Curtis Lucero. During a visit with the Luceros early last month, we learned that Ben Lucero, like his parents,..
Continue » Jun 3, 2011 at 6:26 PM
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TAPAS vintners walk the wild side
Sugarplum fairy came and hit the streets Looking’ for soul food and a place to eat… – Lou Reed TAPAS — the Tempranillo Advocates Producers & Amigos Society — holds its 2011 Grand Tasting this Sunday, June 5 in San Francisco’s Fort Mason (Herbst Pavilion); and if you’re a wine lover forever seeking bold, soulful, food friendly, yet rich and elegant alternatives to the usual cabs and chards dominating our wine markets, you probably don’t want to miss this event! Forty-five of TAPAS’ winery/growers will be pouring their wines, all made from the Spanish or Portuguese grape varieties distinguishing this..
Continue » Jun 2, 2011 at 6:31 PM
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The unsinkable Klinker Brick
A quintessential Lodi wine country story… When things go bad, the old saw goes, you take lemons and turn them into lemonade. Steve Felten, the colorful yet pensive winemaker/proprietor of Klinker Brick Winery, tells us that when he was first forced to turn grapes into wine, he wasn’t exactly thrilled by the prospect. “It started in 1995,” he says, “when we lost our contracts with Gallo, which drove us into making wine to sell on the bulk market… we had to do something with our grapes. After a while, it made sense to start bottling these wines under our own..
Continue » May 30, 2011 at 7:06 PM
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Dee Yates’ zinographic eye
f I could make a red wine that was good for your heart A spicy wine worthy of age Would it be enough for your point-scoring lust? Would it help to ease the pain? Make a stain? … I said, I know it’s only Zinfandel, but I like it I said, I know it’s only Zinfandel but I like it, like it, yes, I do Oh, well, I like it… I like it… I like it… – Randall Grahm (parody sung to The Stones’ It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll) Good photography is like good poetry, or verse set to music: ..
Continue » May 25, 2011 at 7:13 PM
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