Concrete Zinfandel merges old school with space age technology

Joseph Smith (left) and Tyson Rippey among the concrete fermentors at The Lodi Vintners Group winery

Beneath the low key, grayish, mild mannered label of the newly released 2012 Concrete Lodi Zinfandel ($45) lies a big, flashy, super-powered expression of the grape, which has come to exemplify Lodi's viticultural heritage.

Oct 8, 2014 at 12:34 PM Permalink

What makes today’s Lodi wines special?

Four reasons why Lodi wines are so special: !ZaZin and REDS winemakers Ray Kaufmann and Patrick Campbell (left & center), Klinker Brick owner/grower Steve Felten, and ancient, gnarly 109-year old Rauser Vineyard Carignan vine

What makes Lodi wines special?

Oct 1, 2014 at 12:50 PM Permalink

A history of Lodi winegrowing, part 2

San Francisco artist John Garth’s 1960 mural in the Lodi Grape Festival hall, depicting Lodi seasons of yesteryear.

Turn of the century rise of Lodi wineries and growers’ cooperatives

In 1900 Urgon Winery was founded by an enterprising German emigrant named Adolph Bauer, who recognized the need for a wine production facility at a time, during the late 1890s, when many Lodi farmers were transitioning from watermelons to grapes. With the help of his partner John Guggolz, Bauer established the first independent facility for wine and brandy production in the Lodi region. Prior to that, Lodi growers were forced to sell most of their grapes to El Pinal Winery – later re-incorporated as George West and Son Winery – located further south in Stockton...

Sep 23, 2014 at 1:53 PM Permalink

A history of Lodi winegrowing, part 1

Pre-19th century Lodi: at Jessie’s Grove Winery, you can still see native grasses and ancient valley oak trees (several hundred years old) in a 32-acre grove preserved by founder Joseph Spenker and his daughter Jessie for future generations.

Mokelumne (before Lodi was Lodi)

The first settlers of European descent arrived in the area we know as Lodi in 1846; finding what Ralph A. Clark (Lodi – Images of America) described as "an abundant paradise," perched just a few feet above sea level, sandwiched between the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east, and the lower elevation wetlands of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to the west. The Delta is the only break in the coastal mountains in the entire state of California.

The Native American tribe occupying this plush pocket just prior to the onslaught of settlers from Europe or other states was the Plains Miwok; most of whom had already succumbed to a plague that ravaged all the Native American tribes in the San Joaquin Valley in 1832...

Sep 22, 2014 at 2:26 PM Permalink

Can we stop talking about Zinfandel being too high in alcohol?

Picking knife resting on macro-bin of 2014 Schulenburg Vineyard Zinfandel (west side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA)

In a post that recently popped up on the multiple "Best Wine Blog” Award winning Terroirist site, contributor Isaac James Baker commented on six 2012 Lodi AVA grown Zinfandels produced under the Lodi Native banner: "Tasting all six together, I was stunned by the tremendous variation in flavors and textures, and found it fascinating to dissect my perceptions of each wine.

Sep 14, 2014 at 3:18 PM Permalink

Snapshots of Lodi’s 2014 harvest: coming in fast and furious

Daybreak, September 6: consulting winemaker Heather Pyle (left) sorting through Acquiesce Vineyards Piquepoul Blanc pick

The second week of September is usually when the California grape harvest is just getting started. This year, at this same time, many growers and vintners are saying that they are more than a third of the way through. Why the accelerated time table? Three things conspired to upset 2014's grape carts to some extent:

Sep 10, 2014 at 11:18 AM Permalink

The last of Lodi’s rare ancient vine Alicante Bouschet

The blindingly scarlet colors of Mohr-Fry Ranches Alicante Bouschet in 2012, just before being uprooted

Harmony Wynelands has recently released the last of its wines from one of the Lodi AVA's most venerated ancient vine plantings: Mohr-Fry Ranches' twelve and a half acres of Alicante Bouschet, which originally went into the ground in 1921, but was completely torn out following the 2012 vintage.

Sep 7, 2014 at 11:29 AM Permalink

The Downtown Lodi harvest menu, and becoming the 2014 SIP SAVOR Wine Tasting Champion

WHO WANTS TO BE THE 2014 SIP SAVOR LODI WINE TASTING CHAMPION?

One of the two events taking place under the SIP SAVOR LODI Grand Tasting tent at Wine & Roses Hotel on Sunday, September 28, 2014 (1-4 PM) will be a double-blind tasting to determine 2014 Lodi Wine Tasting Champion.

Aug 19, 2014 at 11:42 AM Permalink

Mettler Family’s Aglianico is a harbinger of many great wine grapes to come

Mettler Family Vineyards’ 2012 Lodi Aglianico

The latest Mettler Family Vineyards release is the 2012 Mettler Family Lodi Aglianico ($40); an estate grown red wine of vivid purplish cast, teeming with intensely focused cherry and plum pie-like aromas, tinged with licorice and finely polished vanillin oak subtleties. Plump, full and zesty on the palate; with a layered feel furnished by round yet densely textured tannin.

Aug 14, 2014 at 11:50 AM Permalink

Appreciating Zinfandels (especially from Lodi) like a sommelier

Majestic, own rooted “old man” Lodi Zinfandel (planted in 1901) in Mohr-Fry Ranches’ Marian’s Vineyard

In seminars at the 2014 Zinfandel Advocates & Producers Experience (i.e. ZAP) in San Francisco this past January, some of California's top sommeliers presented Zinfandels from their perspective: in terms of terroir, or "sense of place."

Aug 12, 2014 at 12:08 PM Permalink