The 10 most interesting Lodi grown wines of 2013

So far in 2013 a number of winery releases have come out that are just begging to be cobbled together in one group.  We’ll call them exactly what they seem to us:  The 10 most interesting wines in Lodi.

We’re not saying the “10 best,” mind you.  “Best” is always subjective, and anyone would be totally correct to say that any list of Lodi’s “best” would probably be dominated by Zinfandels produced by Harney Lane, St. Amant, Macchia, or any number of Lodi’s heralded, artisanal producers.  Zinfandel, after all, is the most natural wine grape to grow in Lodi’s Mediterranean climate – it loves the warm yet moderated weather, and it loves the deep, rich yet well drained sandy loam soils – which is why Lodi grows more Zinfandel than any other wine region in California...

Jul 23, 2013 at 10:29 AM Permalink

Forlorn Hope produces stunning Lodi grown “orange” wine

What do you think of orange wines?  Even longtime wine lovers and “experts” get thrown for a loop the first time they are asked that question.  The first thing you think, of course, is, “I didn’t know they make wine from oranges.”

Orange wines, however, are exactly that:  wines made from the usual wine grapes, but finished with an orange-ish color.  Many of the better orange wines have been made from commonly known white wine grapes – like Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris or Gewürztraminer – but are fermented on their skins, rather than without their skins the way white wines are usually made.  This, essentially, is treating white wine grapes the exact same way as black skinned grapes used to produce red wines:  red wines are always fermented on their skins, which is where they get their color, tannin, and most of their flavor components...

Jul 5, 2013 at 10:11 AM Permalink

Why the “R” Grenache, voted “Best Red Wine in Lodi,” may be among California’s finest

This past June the judges at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition voted on 2013’s “Best Red Wine in Lodi”:  the 2012 Jeff Runquist “R” Alta Mesa-Lodi Grenache ($20), sourced from Ron Silva’s Silvaspoons Vineyards.

Has Grenache “arrived?”

First, let’s look at exactly what it is about the Grenache produced by the Amador County based Jeff Runquist Wines that had the State Fair judges so enthralled:  vivid violet-red color; gushy, high toned, strawberry coulis-like fragrance with smidgens of hazelnut-like wood complexities seeping out from the seams; and sharply defined, silky-fine texturing, giving the wine’s plump red berryishness a soft yet notably snappy, lip smacking, bright and lively feel...

Jul 2, 2013 at 10:04 AM Permalink

Onesta releases wines from Lodi’s oldest historic vineyard

This past May there was much ado about a wine event taking place in Healdsburg called the Seven % Solution, highlighting wines made from grapes other than the 93% (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, etc.) to which most of California’s vineyards are planted.

Although the emphasis of Seven % Solution was on the products of wineries sourcing from California’s North Coast, the grapes that were celebrated happened to be grapes that are also planted extensively in Lodi:  including Sémillon, Montepulciano, Chenin Blanc, Picpoul, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Mourvèdre, Vermentino, Counoise, Barbera, Cinsaut, Carignan, St. Laurent, Albarinõ, Tinta Cão, Tourigna Nacional, and Verdelho...

Jun 21, 2013 at 8:46 AM Permalink

Ripken’s award winning Pinot Noir, home grown in the Delta

Attention, fine wine shoppers:  Lodi is now growing some first class Pinot Noir!

At least, this is what a discriminating panel thought about the 2010 Ripken Vineyards Lodi Pinot Noir ($20) when they awarded it a Gold medal and “Best of Class (of Lodi)” earlier this month, during the judging process of the 2013 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

Jun 19, 2013 at 8:42 AM Permalink

Six sexy Lodi rosés for summer sips and nibbles

Nothing screams “summer” better than a good, well chilled bottle of rosé, and American grown rosés are hotter than ever.

Just ask Randy Lange, co-founder/co-owner (with brother Brad) of Lodi Wine Country’s LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards.  The family’s 2012 LangeTwins Family Lodi Sangiovese Rosé ($14) is dry as a bone, yet stunningly lush, bright and juicy.  “The good news,” says Lange, “is that our 2012 Sangiovese Rosé is a wonderful wine to drink right now, in the heat of summer.  The bad news is that the wine sold out in a matter of days after it was released, so even we don’t have any left to enjoy this summer.”

Jun 11, 2013 at 8:37 AM Permalink

A Master Sommelier talks ZinFest wine and cheese

In this blogpost, we have a guest writer:  San Francisco’s Catherine Fallis MS.  MS stands for Master Sommelier, which is a lofty title.  According to the Court of Master Sommeliers Web site, only 133 wine professionals in North America have earned the title of Master Sommelier.  Of those, 114 are men and only 19 are women (Fallis earned her MS in 1997, among the first 6 women to do so).  Only 201 Master Sommeliers in the entire world have earned this title since the first Master Sommelier Diploma Exam was administered, back in 1969 in the U.K. (between the mid-seventies and early eighties, the first 5 American Master Sommeliers had buy their own plane ticket to London to take the exam).

Besides being a widely published wine writer and founder of Planet Grape LLC, Ms. Fallis (a.k.a. “grape goddess”) is on the faculty of the San Francisco Wine School, and has taught at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone (Napa Valley).   She was so thrilled to be part of the 2013 ZinFest that she composed a piece summarizing her thoughts on the experience. 

Jun 6, 2013 at 8:33 AM Permalink

The Landsman Lodi Zinfandel is not just kosher, it’s a doozy

Kosher Lodi grown Zinfandel?  Maybe not something you can say was “bound to happen,” but there now is one, and it’s a doozy – produced and bottled by the Napa Valley based Covenant Wines.

The newly released 2011 Landsman Lodi Zinfandel ($40), crafted by Covenant winemaker/owner Jeff Morgan, is a genuinely rich, vivid, powerfully aromatic expression of Lodi grown Zinfandel:  teeming with raspberry and blueberry fruit qualities that are not quite jammy, yet generous enough to coat the palate with sensations akin to eating drippy berries with svelte, black lambskin gloves.  Medium-full body – that is, not coming across as fat or ponderous – and nuanced by faintly gamey whiffs that are more like the animal smells you find in black, oily, dark roast coffee beans than red meat, laced with suggestions of cardamom and cinnamon...

May 28, 2013 at 8:20 AM Permalink

Abba Vineyards grows Grenache comparable to “Pinot Noir”

Michael McCay, the owner/winemaker of McCay Cellars, believes that Lodi might have discovered “its own Pinot Noir.”  He’s thinking, however, that it may be red wines made from the Grenache grape.

“There is a lot of potential for Grenache in Lodi,” says McCay.  “It may become one of the great grapes of Lodi, right up there with Zinfandel.  It’s the perfect fit for our Mediterranean climate...

May 9, 2013 at 7:45 AM Permalink

Michael Klouda’s Stem Theory magnifies the wild side of Cabernet grapes

If you dig super-rare wines no one else knows about, lend us your ears:  the 2011 Michael Klouda Lodi Stem Theory ($26) is a worthy follow-up to winemaker/owner Michael Klouda’s debut wine from last Spring, the 2010 Michael Klouda Broken Vine Lodi Zinfandel.  A couple of things going for Stem Theory:

1.  Mr. Klouda handcrafted 100 cases of it (doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a big jump from Broken Vine‘s measly production of 25 cases, which some zin lovers can consume all by themselves within a month)...

May 7, 2013 at 7:42 AM Permalink