Why cool kids are lovin' Lodi

Wine lovers at 2015 Lodi ZinFest

Recently, folks at local wineries have been reporting a growing influx of wine lovers of a different stripe. They’ve been coming in from major cities – San Francisco, L.A., Dallas, Chicago, New York, Vancouver – after reading about it in national magazines or the blogosphere, or catching a taste of it in a few bottles that say “Lodi.”  Sleek women in citified heels (awkward for walking between the rows of grapevines for selfies), and guys in goatees and/or hipster hats.

Jun 11, 2015 at 5:59 PM Permalink

Lodi Grenache reds rated among the finest in California

Lodi grower Phil Abba and McCay Cellars winemaker/owner Mike McCay in Abba Vineyard

Some things just creep up on you – like the unsuspected appeal of red wines made from the black skinned Grenache grape. Especially those grown in Lodi.

Earlier in the month we endeavored to take a measure of varietal bottlings of Lodi grown Grenache; gathering 15 of the finest examples grown and produced in California for a “blind” tasting. Meaning, the bottles were poured from paper sacks, their identities unknown to the tasters, which included three of Lodi’s most respected vintners: Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Vineyards, Chad Joseph of Harney Lane Winery and Oak Farm Vineyards (plus three more Lodi based wineries), and Michael McCay of McCay Cellars.

Jun 9, 2015 at 8:15 PM Permalink

Rare hat trick: Lodi garners awards for Vineyard, Grower & Winery of the Year

Three generations of the Indelicato family behind the award winning Delicato Family Vineyards

Lodi hat trick

Over the past year the Lodi Viticultural Area has achieved something of a hat trick; garnering no less than three prestigious California wine industry awards for...

Jun 1, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Stama Winery unveils new tasting room and exciting plans for Lodi’s future

Phase 1 of Stama Winery’s Mediterranean inspired winery, where a temporary tasting room has just opened

Very quietly, over the recent ZinFest weekend, Stama Winery unveiled a spanking new, if low key, tasting room – open 7 days a week, from 11 AM – centrally located at the site of their new winery facility on Davis Road, just south of Turner Road on Lodi's west side.

May 25, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Photos of Lodi Wine Nation at another fun, tranquil ZinFest

ZinFesters know what they like…Lodi grown wine!

Blame it all on their roots, they showed up in boots, and all kinds of hats and wine-country-chic apparel, including threads studded with corks from their favorite bottlings of Lodi wine!

May 19, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Beautiful thing – the refreshing purity of Onesta Wines

Jillian Johnson DeLeon at Lodi cellardoor, where her Onesta Wines can be tasted and purchased

The Lodi AVA grown wines of Onesta Wines winemaker/owner Jillian Johnson DeLeon are distinguished by two closely related things...

May 11, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi wines for tasting, purchase and by-the-glass at ZinFest Festival

2015 ZinFest Scene

2015 ZinFest Festival

Are you ready for Lodi’s 2015 ZinFest Festival, happening this coming Saturday, May 16?

May 6, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

The 2012 ZinFest Commemorative Zinfandel is an essence of Lodi

2012 ZinFest Commemorative Zinfandel

ZinFest 2015: Lodi's Premiere Wine Tasting Event

Each year the Lodi ZinFest produces about a 1,000 bottles of a Commemorative Lodi grown Zinfandel under a colorful Belle Époque inspired art label by our official ZinFest artist, Vince McIndoe, always featuring the same mysterious "red headed girl."

May 4, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Historic Vineyard Society tasting of Lodi’s rarest wines headlines 2015 ZinFest Wine School

ZinFest Wine School

Everybody loves a luscious Zinfandel, Lodi's signature wine, but Lodi ZinFest has always been about a lot more than Zinfandel. It's been about all the fascinating wines – from light and refreshing white and pink wines, to a joyful variety of savory reds – grown in this, the most widely planted American Viticultural Area in the U.S.

Apr 29, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi Zinfandel gets some “pizazz” from a Sonoma producer

2012 Carol Shelton Piazza Vineyard Pizazz Zin Lodi Zinfandel

What happens when a critically acclaimed Sonoma County based Zinfandel producer gets her hands on some Lodi grown fruit?

You get a wine like the newly minted 2012 Carol Shelton Piazza Vineyard Pizazz Zin Lodi Zinfandel ($19): a plump, verging on opulent, almost lascivious style of the varietal; teeming with cherry-bombish fruit coated in nostril tingling cocoa dust and almost piña colada-like sensations.

Apr 24, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink