How varietal character and terroir became generational bones of contention

Marty Winters and Alex Pitts, co-owner/winemakers of Maître de Chai Wines, have been applying a radically different (leaner, less fruity and oaky) approach to old vine Lodi Zinfandel, reflecting a generational shift in quality standards.

An indictment of varietal character

Among all the quality factors by which American wines have been evaluated, the most onerous, and increasingly dubious, is the conception of "varietal character."

Varietal character is the term used to describe sensory qualities associated with a particular grape identified on the label of a bottling. For instance, the varietal character of a Cabernet Sauvignon is often considered to be a red wine that exudes aromas of blackcurrant, dark berries, some degree of herbaceousness, and a full body and generous tannin. The varietal expectation of a Zinfandel is that of a very berry-like red wine, medium to full in body/tannin and zesty in flavor...

Jul 27, 2021 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Grapevines adopting July's reproductive strategy (i.e., veraison)

Transition to 2021 veraison colors in Lodi's Wegat Vineyard (Zinfandel planted in 1958).

It's that time of year again, here in mid-July. Red wine grapes are in the midst of exchanging their green skin colors for coats of red, blue, purple, black, and all the shades in between. This stage of a wine grape's development is called veraison, from the French word véraison (simply meaning "change of color").

Veraison is also a signal that a grapevine is half-way through the process of yielding fully ripened grapes. Once red wine grapes turn color, they are usually picked within the next 40 to 50 days...

Jul 21, 2021 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Beating the heat with fresh, new California style coolers

Have ingredients, make wine coolers.

It's getting hot, and I don't have to tell you — it's hotter than usual. Mother Nature is telling us something. I'm not just talking about what we can do as citizens of the world, each of us doing our part to alleviate the extreme repercussions of climate change. But also what we can do as wine lovers to bring relief to ourselves, friends and family.

Number one, drink wine over ice cubes. We need to cool our body temperatures while hydrating ourselves. Alcoholic beverages, admittedly, have a way of removing rather than adding fluids to our bodies, but more than half of the wine drinking world came up with a solution to this perpectual predicament long ago: Drink icy wines with fruit juices. In other words, the drink many of us might have thought we said aloha to long ago — wine coolers...

Jul 15, 2021 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Guantonios Wood Fired is revolutionizing the way we look at Lodi wines

Guantonios Chef Nick Guantone with his signature Ezzo Pepperoni Pizza

First thing to know about Guantonios Wood Fired is that they are more than a little (60-seat), family-owned, wood oven pizza restaurant. The Lodi locals who have already been enjoying their offerings since since opening during the pandemic in the spring of last year have also come to know these three things...

Jul 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM Permalink

Oak barrels, part 4 — Step by step visual of how barrels are coopered

At Tonnellerie Ô in Benicia, California, raised barrels are moved from fire to fire to execute the bending of oak staves into the classic shape of a Bordeaux style barrique.

Continued from Oak barrels, part 3 — French and American silviculture and oak seasoning

The cooper's ancient art

That "necessity is the mother of invention" was an adage that probably predated even Plato (born at around 425 BC), who wrote that down for posterity. So did wine barrels — in terms of predating Plato. Kazillions of wine lovers today would agree that if there was ever a great, great invention that goes back further than recorded history, it's probably the oak barrel: a timeless, elegantly composed piece of craftsmanship essential to the quality of so many of the world's greatest wines, not to mention whiskies, brandies and fortified wines...

Jul 6, 2021 at 10:00 AM Permalink

Oak barrels, part 3 — French and American silviculture and oak seasoning

Harney Lane Winery owner Kyle Lerner with fermenting Zinfandel, about to be racked into French or American oak barrels.

Continued from Oak barrels, part 2 — historical usage up until modern times

Winemaker machinations

Winemakers are walking, talking examples of the old adage, that winemaking is both a science and an art. Oak barrels tend to bring out the artistic side of winemakers.

Take McCay Cellars owner/grower/winemaker Mike McCay, who has achieved some notoriety for his 100% native yeast fermented Zinfandel, plus a battery of other Lodi-grown varietal reds. These are distinctive wines which tend to have organic (in the sense of natural or authentic) aromas, sometimes peculiar but more often compelling — qualities simply not found in more conventionally produced wines. Therefore, according to Mr. McCay, "we use strictly French oak, generally with medium toast. We get structural tannins in our native fermented reds, but it's not something you want to attack with more aggressive barrels, like what you get in American oak — you can squash the brightness and layers in the wine..."

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Jul 2, 2021 at 8:00 AM Permalink

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