Lodi’s wet, wild, wonderful 2015 Wine & Chocolate Weekend

Zinfandel and kisses in the rain at Lodi’s m2 winery…

Thousands of wine lovers can’t be wrong! It was a wet, wet pre-Valentine’s weekend, to be sure, which did nothing to dampen the hearts and spirits of wine and chocolate lovers pouring in from all over for Lodi wine country’s annual rites of February pleasure.

Feb 8, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Tizona by Bokisch’s Zinfandel is a new Lodi classic

Markus Bokisch and his winemaker Elyse Egan Perry in Lodi’s Kirschenmann Vineyard

The more consumers and wine critics have come to appreciate kinder, gentler, more feminine styles of California Zinfandel, the more they are appreciating Zinfandels grown in Lodi.

Feb 4, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Wines, chocolates, chili: matches made in heaven (and for Wine & Chocolate Weekend!)

Chocolate in the raw: one of the world’s most natural, sensuous wine matches!

Feb 2, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi wines, grapes, and ZAP feelin’ the love

Lodi wine country during the foggy days of January

This week Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (a.k.a. ZAP) hosts its twenty-fourth annual “Experience” in San Francisco (on January 28), attended by thousands of avowed Zinfandel enthusiastss. 2015′s chosen theme: “Zinfandel is a rising star – reach out and grab it.”

Jan 27, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi wines shine where they should at 2015 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

The Michael David winemaking crew — Adam Mettler, Derek Devries, Barry Gnekow and Kevin Phillips — behind a phenomenal performance at the 2015 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Wine judgings don't get much bigger or more prestigious than the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Last week's event – completed January 13, 2015 – was no different: a total of 6,417 wines entered from more than 28 states. There were Gold Medal winners from California, Oregon and Washington, as well as Texas, Ohio, New York, and of course, Lodi.

Jan 18, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

The lowdown on what’s happening during Lodi Wine & Chocolate Weekend!

Lodi wine and chocolate lovers at Macchia winery

Don't look now, but Lodi's Wine & Chocolate Weekend is just around the corner: coming up February 7 & 8, 2015 (Saturday/Sunday). Time's a'wastin', if you're still just thinking about it!

This will be the 18th annual celebration of Lodi's eminently approachable, luscious, juicy style of wines, showcased with a proliferation of complimentary chocolates, savory treats, and fountains of love, love, love. It has become the most popular weekend wine event in Lodi wine country, and for good reason: what better way to seal one's love and devotion to significant others, or whole groups of friends and family?

Jan 15, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

ZAP’s annual San Francisco tasting ushering the arrival of Zinfandel as a serious grape

Lodi Winegrape Commission’s events and marketing coordinators, Sherri Cascaden and Jenny Heitman, representing at ZAP (with Ken Landis, Chef/Owner of Landis Shores Oceanfront Inn in Half Moon Bay)

In 1991, when ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) held the first of its annual tasting extravaganzas in San Francisco, there was little inkling of just how big an event it would become. All the original organizers knew is that Zinfandel – a cultivar singled out by California’s winegrowing pioneers as far back as the 1850s – was in danger of becoming an under-appreciated grape, and they wanted to exhibit an unprecedented show of unity in support of this varietal wine, while offering consumers an opportunity to experience the best of them in one place.

Jan 13, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Our best and most interesting blogposts from 2014

Visiting Sonoma winemaker Greg La Follette respectfully bows before 100-year old Lodi Zinfandel plant

Happy 2015!

We’re looking forward to another year of exciting achievements by the Lodi winegrowing community. But before embarking towards this bright new horizon, we thought it worthwhile to take another look back at our favorite, and most informative, blogposts from 2014: not so much out of fear of forgetting our past and being condemned to repeat it, but rather to sharpen our focus on the future with the clarity that invariably comes with hindsight.

Jan 5, 2015 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Dale Goff’s favorite (and most spectacular) images of Lodi in 2014

Dale Goff of Goff Photography is one of Lodi’s most accomplished professional photographers. Mr. Goff, in fact, has been photographing the Lodi American Viticultural Area for going on 20 years.

Dec 31, 2014 at 8:00 AM Permalink

Lodi wines compared to Texas wines, hats and cattle

Three of Lodi’s modern-day winegrowing pioneers: Borra Vineyards’ Steve Borra, Michael David’s Mike Phillips, and The Lucas Winery’s Dave Lucas

Jeremy Wilson – a sommelier who writes the Texas Wine Lover site and lives in the officially recognized Texas Hill Country AVA (approved in 1991), where he works for Kuhlman Cellars – recently wrote to us, telling us that he believes the Lodi AVA has a lot in common with the Texas wine industry.

Dec 28, 2014 at 8:00 AM Permalink