Why, in Lodi, the finest sparklers are made from Assyrtiko, Albariño, Piquepoul, Bacchus, Clairette blanche, Grenache and Carignan

Clements Hills-Lodi's Terra Alta Vineyard, source of both Piquepoul and Albariño now going into some of California's most exciting alternative style champagne method sparkling wines.

One of the beauties of a warm climate region such as Lodi is that you can now find sparkling wines made from alternative grapes more naturally adapted to Mediterranean climate zones.

Not that Chardonnay and Pinot noir—the two primary grapes of France’s famed Champagne region—aren’t found in Lodi. There is, in fact, plenty of Chardonnay and Pinot noir grown in the region, much of it planted to supply big name sparkling wine producers out on the coast. A minuscule percent of the Chardonnay and Pinot noir grown in Lodi does go to local wineries producing classically inspired champagne method wines such as LVVR, Nostra Vita, Peltier Winery and Michael David Winery...

Apr 1, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Why big, oaky California whites have always been food-worthy

Coopering oak barrels, the use of which drastically altered the style and scope of California wine in the 1970s and '80s.

Nowadays we talk a lot about crisp, light, minimally or "non" oaked white wines. That's because they represent cutting-edge wines becoming increasingly associated with Lodi. We push that fact because we want to explode the myth that Lodi only produces big, fat, ultra-ripe wines. This is not, however, to take away from fuller bodied white wines that are often less sharp in acidity, and often perceptively or even generously "oaky."

Not too long ago (where does the time go?) people often referred to those kinds of wines as "cougar juice." Full bodied, buttery or creamy textured white wines often drunk more as cocktails than with food. Guess what, though? These wines can also be wonderful with food—lots of dishes most of us love to eat...

Mar 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

What to do about creeping prohibitionism

Is red wine a "prescription" for good health? Let's discuss. wineandchampagnegifts.com.

Why are there perpetually conflicting reports on either the health benefits or health risks of wine?

Simple answer: Wine is an alcoholic beverage. It is the alcohol content that is identified as the potentially dangerous substance, often as a carcinogen (i.e., cancerous agent)...

Mar 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

How to be a pompatus of wine

Lodi winemakers at work (Markus Niggli, Layne Montgomery).

For me, moving to Lodi fifteen years ago was a conscious act of embracing my inner wine lover. There were practicalities. At the time, I was hooked on Zinfandel as the best possible everyday drinking wine, and Lodi was where nearly half of California's Zinfandel was grown. 

Mind you, by then I had already been around the world and had the privilege of walking through many of the world's greatest vineyards and wine regions, as part of my previous career as a restaurateur... 

Mar 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Piquepoul, Grüner Veltliner, Cinsaut, Blaufränkisch—four contemporary varieties foreshadowing the future of California wine

Early morning Picpoul Blanc harvest, Acquiesce Vineyards, Mokelumne River-Lodi appellation.

How is your contemporary wine grape IQ? Are you up on the latest "alternative" varietals? Should you even care?

If a grape makes perfectly delicious wine, I would say "yes" to the last question. The way I see it: There are many grape varieties—hundreds of them, probably, grown all over the world—that may be new, unknown, exotic or even strange to most of us here in America. Yet in the parts of the world where these grapes come from, they are practically pedestrian, making perfectly familiar drinking wine.

What may be strange here is usually an everyday thing elsewhere. Or vice versa. Take, in a reverse-case scenario, a grape everyone knows here in California: Zinfandel, which (despite the commercial dominance of grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay) is still the most widely planted grape in Lodi. Zinfandel, however, is not grown in Spain, France or Germany, three of the largest wine countries in Europe. And why should Spain, France or Germany care about Zinfandel? They have plenty of grapes of their own to make wine from...

Mar 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM Permalink

Is wine no longer cool? (And other pertinent questions)

Popular Lodi restaurant and alternative wine (i.e., handcraft or natural) destination, Guantonios Wood Fired. Shelly Guantone.

Once I was standing in a Berkeley wine store with a reputation for "cool" wines, when I saw a woman burst through the door, march straight to the counter and ask, "Can you help me pick out a white wine to drink tonight?"

In his best, calming, Al Franken-like voice, the store manager said, "Okay... may I ask what food you would be having with your wine?" The woman's reply was, "I'm not having any food... all I'm asking for is a very good white wine, preferably very dry, not something fruity or from California, and it has to have alcohol!"

Mar 5, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Everything about tannin, particularly in terms of the wide range of red wine grapes grown in Lodi

Tannin is a major sensory attribute of red wines. Like the important role acidity plays in all the variations of white wines, sparkling wines and rosés, the factor of tannin content varies among all the red wines of the world. 

Differentiations among red wines depend primarily upon the grape variety from which the wines are made; and since many red wines are, in fact, blends of different grapes (in the U.S. "varietal" wines can be labeled by a single grape variety if at least 75% of the wine consists of that grape), tannin levels can vary depending upon the virtually endless variations of red wine blends produced around the world.

Technically, tannin is a class of biomolecule found primarily in seeds of grapes, but also in skins and, if included, stems. Since red wines derive their color from the pigments (i.e., anthocyanins, also important for extraction of flavonoids) in the skins of black skinned grapes, they are typically made by fermenting complete with skins and seeds; thereby extracting tannin which, together with pigments, are collectively referred to as phenolic content...

Mar 3, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Everything you need to know about the acidity of Lodi's extraordinary range of varietals

When wine lovers talk about acidity in wine, they are not talking about anything mysterious or highfalutin. If you're a human being who eats what most people eat, you already understand acidity. Almost everyone knows, for instance, lemons and limes are very tart in terms of acidity. Therefore you do not bite into lemons and limes the same way that you readily eat a mango or cantaloupe, which have an opposite amount of acidity—very soft, lush, juicy.

There is, of course, an enormous variety of wines, just like there are endless varieties of fruit. Most New World wines—that is, wines grown and produced in regions such as the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and anywhere in South America—are sold primarily as "varietal" wines; that is, by the names of grapes from which the wines are primarily made. And, as in anywhere around the world, the vast majority of commercial wines are either white, red, pink (i.e., rosés) or sparkling (the latter, wines popularly called champagne)...

Feb 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Photo-memories from Lodi's 2025 Wine & Chocolate Weekend, proving to be more popular than ever!

Three gentlemen fearlessly dressed for the occasion at m2 Winery during Lodi's Wine & Chocolate Weekend.

The news, according to a local ABC correspondent, is that "Lodi's Wine and Chocolate Weekend events went on as planned, highlighting the wines the region has to offer."

This was plain as day throughout Saturday the 15th, as wine and chocolate lovers went from winery to winery to savor the local wares. It was quite the spectacle: From irresistibly cuddly 1-week old baby goats at Spenker Family Farm and laughing crowds taking selfies against a "Freakshow" backdrop at Michael David Winery, to gentlemen attired in bright red suits festooned with hearts at m2 Winery and rows of limousines dropping off entire parties of wine and chocolate celebrants to enjoy barrel tastings at Berghold Vineyards...

Feb 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink

Further proof that Grenache absolutely sings in Lodi's Mediterranean climate terroir

Abba Vineyard Grenache on the east side of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA.

Lodi always wins more than its share of top awards in blind tasting competitions manned by professional wine judges. So much, it's hard to keep up with them. 

We have to make special mention, though, of one result from the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition announced just this past January, in which the 'Red Sweepstake Medal" winner was the 2023 Rippey Family Vineyards Abba Vineyard Lodi Grenache ($34)...

Feb 17, 2025 at 7:00 AM Permalink