Lodi's annual Tour of Tempranillo, and everything you need to know about this emerging varietal red

Ribera del Duero clone Tempranillo in Lodi's Bokisch Vineyards.

Be sure to mark down the weekend of November 13-14, 2021 for Lodi's sixth annual Lodi Tour of Tempranillo.

This year nine of the Lodi region's wineries who specialize in Tempranillo will open their doors for this self-guided tour. It's a special event because Tempranillo, a grape that originated in Spain and generally considered that country's finest red wine variety, has found a natural home in Lodi's Mediterranean climate and grape-friendly soils. In short, Tempranillo produces first class red wines, as fine as any in the world, and certainly as fine as any in Lodi...

Nov 2, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Phenomenal three-way blends made from Lodi grapes by Sandlands, McCay, Marchelle and Neyers

Three winemakers now producing phenomenal red wine blends in one of their primary vineyard sources, Spenker Ranch's 1900 Carignan block: (from left) Marchelle Wines' Greg La Follette, Neyers Vineyards' Tadeo Borchardt and Sandlands Wines' Tegan Passalacqua.

Believe it or not, some of the finest red wines to come out of Lodi over the past few years have not been varietal or even single-vineyard wines coming from, say, heritage Zinfandel sites. Lately, it's been blends of different grape varieties, grown in separate vineyards, that have been the most impressive...

Oct 27, 2021 at 3:00 PM Permalink

Tokay series fine sandy loam, part 2 — sandy loam vs. loamy sand

Phillips Farms viticulturist and Michael Klouda Wines owner/winemaker Michael Klouda walking through the extremely fine, fluffy Tokay series sandy loam soil on the east side of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA.

Continued from Tokay fine sandy loam, part 1 — the Mokelumne River's defining natural features

Taxonomic profile of Tokay series fine sandy loam

Soil series taxonomy in the United States was originally developed by the USDA for the purposes of agricultural advisory. Over 14,000 different soil types have been identified. According to the information on Tokay series fine sandy loam soil found in usda.gov...

Oct 21, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Tokay fine sandy loam, part 1 — the Mokelumne River's defining natural feature

Indigenous valley oak and old vine Zinfandel on the west side of Lodi's Mokelumne River appellation.

The historic environment of valley oaks and grapes

Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA — an American Viticultural Area (i.e., AVA) established in 2006 by the TTB along with six other Lodi sub-appellations — is defined primarily by one common factor: Its deep (as much as 90 feet), porous yet high vigor soil, classified by the USDA as Tokay series fine sandy loam...

Oct 18, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Burning questions about appreciating old vine wines

2021 Zinfandel harvest in Lodi's Rous Vineyard, originally planted on St. George rootstocks in 1909.

As a follow-up to our previous post on Why everyone loves old vines, some answers to pertinent questions usually brought up in discussions about old vine wines...

Oct 12, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Why everyone loves old vines

Winter pruning of old vines (planted between the 1920s and 1940s) in Stampede Vineyard, one of Lodi's premier old vine Zinfandel plantings.

Of all the different sides of Lodi winegrowing, none is more compelling than the region's old vines. There is beauty, to begin with it, in the thick, creviced, tree-like trunks of vines over 50 years old, and in their long, sturdy, twisting, muscular arms, or "spurs." There is beauty in each vine's story, what we know of them or what we just imagine. Older vines have histories, and the more we know, know, know about them the more we love, love, love them. 

So let's learn more about old vines. At least, those of the Lodi Viticultural Area, where thousands of acres of old plantings have been thriving since as far back as the 1800s (although, granted, in the late 1800s the vines considered "ancient" today were still young bucks). For starters...

Oct 8, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Zinfandel is the ideal autumnal wine

2021 Zinfandel harvest on the east side of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA.

Zinfandel is the ideal autumn sipper. Make that quaffer. Why fool around?

Why Zinfandel? Because it is one of the few red wines with a propensity for spice qualities in the nose and flavor. By spice, we mean a pungent quality ascribed to an aromatic compound called rotundone, the or sesquiterpene (or class of terpenes) responsible for the "spicy" or "peppery" aroma and taste commonly found, first and foremost, in peppercorns, but also in other plants like juniper, geranium, and various kitchen herbs... 

Oct 5, 2021 at 11:00 AM Permalink

What six visiting wine influencers are saying about Lodi

Six visiting wine influencers with Calhoun & Company's Katie Calhoun (center) in Phillips Farms' Bare Ranch on Lodi's west side, they they helped pick 2021 Primitivo.

Last week (September 19-22, 2021) Lodi growers and vintners hosted six wine influencers in a 3-day study of the Lodi wine region.

Sometimes it helps to ask someone what they think moments after their experience. Said one of the influencers, L.A.'s Elle Rodriguez, in a video/message transmitted while waiting to leave at Sacramento International Airport: “Omigosh, I'm shocked... Lodi is such a gem."

Upon further thought, Rodriguez added: "Lodi has all the right vibes. If you are into good people, great wine, authentic experiences, this is the place for you. It’s not at all corporate. The winemakers are hands-on. You see stains under their fingernails, and an absence of Rolexes. If this sounds like your kind of experience, come to Lodi before the word gets out..."

Sep 30, 2021 at 7:00 AM Permalink

The fresh grape packing action (for the nation's home winemakers) in Lodi vineyards

Old vine Carignan, field-packed by Lodi's M & R Company, decked out with a vintage Sabor e Ducura (Portuguese for "Flavor and Sweetness") crate label, and headed out to home winemakers across the country and in Canada.

Every mid-September through early October, one of the common sights in vineyards in Lodi is pickers loading grapes into 40-pound lug boxes. Next to the vines, the pickers weigh each lug box on scales in order to be as precise as possible. At the edge of the vineyards, on the side of the road, the lugs are then emptied into colorful wooden boxes by grape packers. 

Each crate — filled with grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel or Carignan — is sealed with a curved wooden top, and the boxes are bundled together with steel strapping on 36-box pallets, before being loaded onto trucks...

Sep 24, 2021 at 10:00 AM Permalink

More wine myths we have known

Do wine bottles need to be stored on their side or upright? We explore this and other common wine "myths."

The world is full of myths and legends. Why? Because, evidently, it's in our nature to be captivated by them. It's like in Peter Pan... "I do believe in fairies."

Sep 16, 2021 at 12:00 PM Permalink