What is Lodi terroir? (Part 5, Where to find terroir focused Lodi wines)

Winter pruning in Clements Hills-Lodi's Stampede Vineyard which has become a favorite Zinfandel source among small, handcraft terroir focused producers because of the growth's penchant for high acidity, moderate weight and ringing berry perfumes.

Continued from What is Lodi terroir? (Part 4, How terroir focused wines are made)

Lodi grown wines that prioritize sensory qualities expressing terroir or "sense of place"—be it a specific vineyard or an appellation or sub-appellation (i.e., an AVA within an AVA)—over varietal character or brand style are now more numerous than you may think. 

For the most part, terroir focused producers are on the small, artisanal side, with rare exceptions—such as the nationally distributed Mettler Family Vineyards and Klinker Brick Winery brands, which produce handcraft, native yeast fermented, neutral oak aged Zinfandels as a way of showing off historic old vine properties, in stark contrast from their commercial style releases...

Nov 4, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink

What is Lodi terroir? (Part 4, How terroir focused wines are made)

Marisa Vineyard, an old vine Mokelumne River-Lodi growth now bottled as a minimal intervention, terroir focused Zinfandel by Klinker Brick Winery, in sharp contrast with the brand's nationally distributed commercial style bottlings emphasizing varietal rather than vineyard character.

Continued from What is Lodi terroir? (part 3, Soil and topography)

The difference between commercial and terroir focused styles of varietals

Terroir focused wines are wines that are meant to taste like the vineyards or regions where they are grown more than anything else. Commercial style wines, on the other hand, are produced primarily to express... 

Oct 30, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink

What is Lodi terroir? (Part 3, Soil and topography)

Ultra-fine and deep (as much as 100-ft.) Tokay sandy loam soil giving definition to Lodi's Mokelumne River Viticultural Area.

Continued from What is Lodi terroir? (Part 2, Mediterranean climate)

In August 2006, the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) approved the usage of seven new American Viticultural Areas (a.k.a. AVAs) falling within the broader Lodi AVA (originally recognized in 1986):

• Alta Mesa
• Borden Ranch
• Clements Hills
• Cosumnes River
• Jahant
• Mokelumne River
• Sloughhouse

Oct 28, 2024 at 6:00 AM Permalink

What is Lodi terroir? (part 2: Mediterranean Climate)

Delta slough alongside vineyards located on the far west side of the Lodi AVA, where most of the region's terroir falls below sea level and is first to be cooled off by daily Delta breezes blowing in from the Bay Area.

Continued from What is Lodi terroir? (Part 1, Definition)

Impact of Delta breezes on Lodi terroir

Because it falls within a watershed immediately east of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta draining directly into San Pablo Bay (the northern extension of San Francisco Bay), the terroir of entire Lodi Viticultural Area in terms of climate is defined as "Mediterranean," a climate classification also comparable to much of the coastal wine regions of California. 

Mediterranean climate is characterized by dry summers and mild, wet winters typical of wine regions located 30 to 45 degrees north or south of the equator. This includes, of course, almost all the wine regions along the Mediterranean Basin, as well as much of the California Coast between the North Coast and Central Coast AVAs... 

Oct 22, 2024 at 5:00 AM Permalink

What is Lodi terroir? (part 1, Definition)

Lodi's Marian's Vineyard, a combination of ultra-deep sandy loam, Mediterranean climate and over 120 years of own-rooted Zinfandel cultivation adding up to a distinctive terroir perceptible in the sensory quality of its wines.

What is terroir?

Out of respect for this concept's French origin, I prefer to italicize the word, although you don't have to, since it's now co-opted into the English language like many other French words (such as élevage, café, chef, sommelier, apéritif, petite, haute couture, de rigueur, et al.).

But be careful how you use it. Merriam-Webster, for instance, simply defines terroir as a "combination of factors including soil, climate, and sunlight that gives wine grapes their distinctive character." That's true, but it's a lot more than that... 

Oct 17, 2024 at 7:00 AM Permalink

The myths attached to wine regions and best climates for wine grapes

"Contemplation" among old vines at Lodi's The Lucas Winery estate.

The wine world has always been full of myths. Why? Because mystique and imagination play as big a role in the enjoyment of wines as facts and figures. Wine, after all, is often described as an art, and leaps of imagination are very much a part of all artistic endeavors.

As you would expect, almost all myths are eventually dispelled, at which point they become more like inconvenient truths—things that most people can't or won't accept, even if we know they're true. We love our myths, our unfounded superstitions, our compelling mystiques. We desperately cling to them because they bring order and predictability to our lives. Until they don't.

For example, when I first started in the industry during the late 1970s it was "common knowledge" that the finest wines in the world came from France, and that wines from the places such as California or Oregon were, at best, pale imitations. As many long time wine buffs now know, events such as the Judgement of Paris in 1976⏤when French judges famously rated California wines higher than American wines in a blind tasting⏤quickly put an end to that erroneous myth...

Oct 14, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Everything you need to know about Assyrtiko, a Lodi wine of the future

Perlegos Family grown Assyrtiko, tailor made for Lodi's Mediterranean climate and sun.

A white wine of the (near) future

Prediction: In about 25 years time, Assyrtiko will become a major grape of the Lodi wine region. 

Not "major," mind you, in the same way as high-demand wine industry grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. According to the most recent California Grape Acreage Report (April 2024), there are currently 14,102 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and 12,191 acres of Chardonnay cultivated in the Lodi appellation (classified as District 11 by the USDA)...

Oct 8, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Small scale independents working out of Lodi Crush produce exciting alternative style wines

The line-up of minimal intervention, small, independent winemakers working out of Lodi Crush: from left, Adam Saake (Perch Wine Co.), Adam Sabelli-Frisch (Sabelli-Frisch), Rose Nemet (Kareen Wine), Terah Bajjalieh (Terah Wine Co.), Greg Nemet (Kareen Wine) and Gerardo Espinosa (Lodi Crush and Anaya Vineyards).

Lodi Crush has become a magnet for small, independent wine brands⏤primarily one- or two-person operations⏤who, almost as a rule, prefer minimal intervention, alternative style wines appealing to the growing minority of oenophiles who prefer less commercialized, almost raw tasting wines. 

For the most part, this subset of handcraft artisans also look for grapes that are farmed in organic fashion. This approach to viticulture is all part of this growing culture⏤low intervention farming, after all, goes hand in hand with low intervention winemaking⏤which is also becoming increasingly important to consumers who specifically seek out products produced with some sense of environmental responsibility...

Oct 3, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Intriguing batch of alternative style wines bringing new sensations to the appellation

2024 Charbono harvest in Lodi's WOO GIRL! estate.

Every year it's the same. Fall seeps into your veins like a transfusion. The palate reawakens. Not that it was comatose during the summer months. It's just alerted to new sensations.

Lou Reed once wrote a song about renewed outlooks on life, called "New Sensations"—not so much about a change in seasons as change of scenery. In Reed's song, it's about taking his motorcycle out into the hills where he can feel the icy sting of the air as it slaps the cheeks; where a burger, a coke and a "hillbilly song" coming out of a jukebox in a roadside diner suddenly seems almost revelatory, as he muses...

Oct 1, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Harvest images of Church Block, an all-time great historic Lodi vineyard

Early morning harvest morning in Lodi's historic Church Block Vineyard.

At the break of dawn this past Monday, September 23, Markus Wine Co. owner/grower/winemaker Markus Niggli and his veteran crew of field hands picked the landmark Church Block Vineyard.

Church Block is located just south of the City of Lodi, and is just a postage stamp-sized block (1.5 acres) located just east of the old Borra Vineyards winery and estate, which shuttered in 2019, the year before the death of owner/grower and founder Steve Borra... 

Sep 26, 2024 at 8:00 AM Permalink