Hux’s Roussanne & Mourvèdre recall the pioneering spirit of Rhone Rangers

The adventurous spirit of California’s Rhône Rangers, an unofficial movement that began to spark just over 30 years ago, still lives on here and there, seemingly everywhere you look:  particularly at Hux Vineyards, one of Lodi’s little-wineries-that-could.

The 3.5-acre Hux Vineyards, established just south of the town of Lodi by Dave and Barbara Huecksteadt some 15 years ago, consists of only a couple rows each of a surprising variety of grapes, primarily of Mediterranean origin:  Roussanne and Grenache Blanc among the white wine grapes; and among the reds, Mourvèdre, Souzão, Tempranillo, Teroldego, a little bit of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, and the extremely rare, virtually unheard-of Marzemino (see past blogpost, Many wines other than Zinfandel at 2012 ZinFest)...

Jan 2, 2013 at 9:23 AM Permalink

Markus Bokisch looks back at 2012

Markus Bokisch tastes 2012 Verdelho harvest in his Vista Luna Vineyard

Here at the end of 2012, it makes sense to catch up with Markus Bokisch, whose Bokisch Ranches have become one of the most important vineyard management companies in the Lodi American Viticultural Area (a.k.a. AVA).

Bokisch Ranches is not the largest grower in Lodi – that would be companies like LangeTwins Family, John Kautz Farms, Vino Farms, the Dosio family’s Pacific Agri Lands, and a few others – but they are significant because of their upward growth despite increasing economic barriers (2,200 bearing acres of wine grapes, with another 900 acres in development), and because they sell to such a large number of specialty wineries throughout the state, who also tend to garner the most press...

Dec 27, 2012 at 4:22 PM Permalink

The perfect holiday refresher: Sorelle Vin Brulé

The Sorelle estate, on the site of the historic Dodge House

In recent weeks, lucky visitors to Sorelle Winery have been treated to a special drink:  a classic mulled (or “spiced”) wine that Mike Scott and his family – owners and growers of this outstanding Lodi AVA winery, specializing in Italian varietals – have been calling Sorelle Vin Brulé...

Dec 18, 2012 at 5:37 PM Permalink

An ultimate Christmas gift: Lodi’s 12 most interesting wines of 2012

For Christmas, what do you give a Lodi wine lover who’s tried everything?  A full case (12 bottles) of Lodi’s 12 finest wines, of course.

Herein lies the dilemma:  the Lodi wine industry has recently reached the point where it is simply an impossibility to pick Lodi’s “12 finest wines.”  There’s just too darned many of them!

Dec 11, 2012 at 5:48 PM Permalink

Visit Estate Crush for wines as plump as Christmas

Estate Crush partners Alison and Bob Colarossi, and (middle) Nick Sikeotis toast the opening of Lodi's newest tasting room

Have a hankering to taste some super hand crafted Lodi grown wines this weekend?  Estate Crush — Lodi’s 16,000 square foot custom crush facility — will quietly open its tasting room this weekend (Dec. 10-11, 12-5 PM) at the corner of Lockeford and Sacramento (the north end of Downtown Lodi)...

Dec 9, 2012 at 8:41 PM Permalink

Does price (and letting wines “breathe”) matter?

Does price affect the “quality” of wine?  Yes, indeed it do.

At least according to results of a study that was released back in 2008, conducted by Antonio Rangel, Associate Professor of Economics at the California Institute of Technology (as reported by the Stanford Business Web site).  In this study, Rangel asked volunteers to blind-taste 5 different bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, and then rate their preferences. Rangel ran this taste test 15 times with 15 different groups, and the wines were always presented in random order...

Dec 7, 2012 at 6:01 PM Permalink

Lodi’s winemakers analyze 12 of their top 2010 Zinfandels

Lodi winemakers blind tasting 2010 vintage Zinfandels

What happens when you take 11 of Lodi’s best winemaker/growers, and sit them down at one table to blind-taste their own Zinfandels?

In early November we did exactly that, in the Cellar Room of Lodi’s posh Wine & Roses Hotel & Spa.  Our focus was on Zinfandels from the 2010 vintage:  a year that has been characterized by more than a few winegrowers as very “North Coast” – meaning, a year of significantly cooler than normal weather throughout the growing season (only one day hitting 100° F. – fewer than what Napa Valley experienced in 2010)...

Dec 4, 2012 at 6:13 PM Permalink

The many faces of Lodi in 2012 (part 2)

Petite Sirah harvest in Vinedos Aurora's home ranch

There is strength and perseverance in Lodi faces — borne out of long hours under the sun, or when pinched by wintry chill — as well as wisdom and the signs of sheer joy that that are part and parcel of the Delta‘s main industry:  wine grapes.

In 2012 the Lodi American Viticultural Area took another giant leap in the world of fine wine, topped off by a harvest that may have been the region’s best ever:  grapes ripening under perfect, trouble-free conditions, and in sufficient enough quantities to allow prolonged, steady maturation (during years when  yields are cut short by poor spring sets or spotty autumn weather, grapes tend to ripen either too rapidly or not at all)...

Nov 30, 2012 at 6:31 PM Permalink

East side, west side, Lodi Zinfandels getting around the block

Beach blanket Zinfandel: November in Noma Ranch’s dry farmed planting on the east side of Lodi where the soils are the sandiest and deepest

Part 2 of our autumn paen to Zinfandel (starting with Lodi Zinfandel's transitioning styles and food moxie):

In 1991, some 600 of Lodi’s grape growers came together to form the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission (since shortened to Lodi Winegrape Commission). At that point in time, according to the Commission’s former Executive Director, Mark Chandler, “The trade and consumers viewed Lodi as a jug wine region, despite the fact that even then we were the largest producer of premium quality wine grapes in the state, which we still are.”

Today wine bottles bearing the Lodi appellation are seen on retail shelves and fine dining restaurant wine lists across the nation, and it is no longer a surprise when Lodi wines win double-golds and even “Best of Show” accolades in tasting competitions involving thousands of wines from other American wine regions...

Nov 27, 2012 at 4:33 PM Permalink

The many faces of Lodi in 2012 (part 1)

One man winter pruning team, on Lodi's west side

As we approach the end of another auspicious year in Lodi‘s wine country, it is as good a time as any to revisit the first half of 2012 with some of our favorite images of the people who are making this American Viticultural Area what it is:  one of the most exciting (no longer just one of the most prolific) winegrowing regions in the world...

Nov 25, 2012 at 4:41 PM Permalink