Peltier leads the way with Lodi grown Vermentino and Sauvignon Blanc

Peltier Winery winemaker Susana ("Susy") Rodriguez Vasquez

With the release of a second vintage of white wines crafted by winemaker Susana Rodriquez Vasquez, Peltier Winery & Vineyards has seized a leadership position within the Lodi winemaking community in respect to a couple of dry style varietal whites: Vermentino and Sauvignon Blanc...

May 8, 2018 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Lodi's ZinFest Wine Festival is about far more than Zinfandel

ZinFest Cooking School guest chef/sommelier Lauren Rose O'Leary

Plethora of Uniquely "Lodi" Wines

It’s called “ZinFest,” but make no mistake: Lodi’s ZinFest Wine Festival – taking place Saturday, May 19, 2018 at bucolic Lodi Lake Park (12:00-5:00 PM) – is about far more than Zinfandel.
 
Dozens of wineries will be pouring over 200 different wines; including the light, fragrant, zesty styles of dry whites and rosés for which the region is becoming increasingly known...
 
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May 3, 2018 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Revising our assumptions and classifications of wine region climates

m2 Winery estate under April 2018 skies

More and more wine consumers, as well as journalists and online scribes, are starting to notice that the Lodi Viticultural Area produces light, refreshing, perfectly crisp and natural white wines without any winemaker “adjustments,” like the addition of acidity in the winery.

Lodi is also known for Zinfandel – the region crushes nearly 40% of the entire state’s production each year. With the advent of smaller, artisanal Lodi based producers over the past 10 or so years, Zinfandel lovers are starting to notice another salient fact: Lodi produces a more delicate, gentle, fragrant style of Zinfandel – in comparison to the bigger, thicker, riper, jammier styles associated with, say, Napa Valley and most of Sonoma County.

What gives?

Apr 26, 2018 at 6:00 AM Permalink

The latest Freelance red (the wine formerly labeled Coup de Grâce) still vanquishes the competition

Freelance Wines' Adam Mettler between early April showers

The 2015 Freelance Wines Lodi Coup de Grâce ($25) has an eye-catching label depicting George Washington leading his blue-coated men into battle, amidst falling snow looking more like shimmering Fourth of July confetti.

The red wine inside is even catchier: A full throated, dense yet lusciously rounded blend of Lodi grown Zinfandel (47%), Petite Sirah (29%), Petit Verdot (15%), and Cabernet Franc (9%). The aromatic profile is deep and spicy – cracked black pepper mingling with a whiff of smoke, like the proof of bombs-bursting-in-air. What’s not to like?

Apr 23, 2018 at 12:00 PM Permalink

Wines bearing Certified Green seals shine at LODI RULES Spring Party

LODI RULES Director Stephanie Bolton Ph.D. at last week's growers' and vintners' "Spring Party"

Last week Thursday (April 12, 2018), Lodi Viticultural Area wine grape growers and vintners came together to celebrate a “LODI RULES Spring Party,” sponsored by the Lodi Winegrape Commission, and generously hosted by Michael David Winery.

The April gathering was also the perfect excuse for everyone to share and sample the growing number of Lodi grown wines carrying a “Certifed Green” seal – reflecting grapes grown under the strict, third party certified guidelines of LODI RULES for Sustainable Winegrowing – right on the bottle (usually found on the back-label)...

Apr 19, 2018 at 2:00 PM Permalink

ZinFest Pre-Event: Comparing Lodi wines to world's finest in blind tasting

How do Lodi grown wines compare to the best in the world?​ The only real way to find out is by lining them up right next to each other, and then tasting them “blind”: Judging them purely according to sensory qualities found in the glass, not by what you may have heard or assume about the wines.

On Friday, May 18, 2018 (2:00-4:00 PM) – as part of our annual Lodi ZinFest – we are inviting 50 consumers (limited seating!) to sit down with Lodi wine industry professionals to a formal blind tasting of 16 wines, tasted in four “flights” of 4 wines each. This will take place in Wine & Roses Hotel Ballroom (2505 W. Turner Rd., Lodi, CA). Read all about this Zin-Fest Pre-Event here...

Apr 11, 2018 at 12:00 PM Permalink

Latest styles and grapes at the 2018 Lodi Wine & Food Festival

Lodi Winegrape Commission's Stephanie Bolton PhD, enjoying the 2018 Lodi Wine & Food Festival

Winemakers are like everyone else. As soon as they get something done, they can’t wait to show it off.

Which is why, in early April of each year, the Lodi Wine & Food Festival is the place to be if you, too, can’t wait to try many of the local wineries’ latest releases – especially some of the previous vintage’s whites and rosés, fresh off the bottling lines.

It’s also a great opportunity to see where the Lodi wine industry is at in terms of latest styles and grapes. Some of it, of course, is invariably experimental. Wineries will try out this or that idea. If it takes off, they’ll stick with it. If not, they move on...

Apr 9, 2018 at 10:00 AM Permalink

Tegan Passalacqua headlines guest speakers and cutting-edge wines at 2018 ZinFest Wine School

Celebrated vigneron Tegan Passalacqua in his Lodi property, Kirschenmann Vineyard (photo courtesy of John Curley Photography)

Under the Wine School tent at this year’s Lodi ZinFest – taking place Saturday, May 19, 2018 at bucolic Lodi Lake Park – we will be pulling out all the stops to bring some of the wine world’s most celebrated winemakers, and most cutting-edge wines, to the stage.

“Celebrated” in what way? San Francisco Chronicle, for one, has described one of our guest speakers, Turley Wine Cellars winemaker Tegan Passalacqua, as “California’s great vineyard wanderer,” and producer of “today’s more interesting California wines.” Passalacqua, a Lodi vineyard and home owner, mines Lodi for wines bottled under the fabled Turley wine label, as well as with his own personal Sandlands brand – and if there’s one thing Lodi wine country is known for, it’s lots and lots of sandy soil...

Apr 5, 2018 at 2:00 PM Permalink

Spenker Winery's magical transformation into a farmstead artisan creamery

Spenker Winery winemaker/owner Bettyann Spenker and fine-hoofed friends

Something exciting is afoot – or shall we say, a-hoof? – at Spenker Winery, a 60-acre winery estate located on the west side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA.

This coming June 2018, the Spenker family will officially expand from being an estate grown winery to also being a licensed producer and seller of artisan farmstead cheeses ("artisan" defined as hand-made cheeses, and “farmstead” technically meaning that cheeses are produced only from milk raised on-property). A goat barn is already up and running; and construction of a creamery, which will share space with a new tasting room and retail space, is nearing completion as we speak...

Mar 28, 2018 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Heritage Oak's blends are crafted for sophisticated red wine lovers

Heritage Oak owner/grower/winemaker Tom Hoffman

After a visit to Tom Hoffman’s Heritage Oak Winery earlier this year, James Beard and Emmy award winning wine journalist Mary Orlin described Mr. Hoffman as the “Blend Master.”
 
That is to say: Like all the top wine winery estates, Hoffman grows and produces varietal wines – wines labeled by the grape from which they are made (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, etc.). But more and more during recent years, Hoffman has been dabbling in wines that are blends of multiple grapes; such as his “Spanish Suite” (made from Tempranillo, Grenache and Syrah), a “Portuguese Suite” (Tinto Cão, Souzão, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz), a “French Blend” (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Petite Sirah), and few more...

Mar 26, 2018 at 7:00 AM Permalink