Forlorn Hope’s pure style of Torrontés & Alvarelhão

Forlorn Hope winemaker/proprietor Matthew Rorick

While Lodi is known for its wine grape productivity – as such, the largest single American Viticultural Area in the U.S. – it has also become known as a source of many a cutting-edge grape.  You name it, at least some of it is grown here:  from Alicante Bouschet, Bastardo and Carmine, to Trincadeira, Vermentino, Zweigelt, and some 70 other odd varieties in between.

Many of the gigantic wineries, like E. & J. Gallo and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, utilize lesser known varieties in their blending programs.  On the opposite end of the scale are the micro-sized producers who actually produce varietal wines from underappreciated grapes...

Jun 11, 2012 at 10:06 PM Permalink

TAPAS & Albariño, for all the right (culinary) reasons

Albarino from Bokisch's Terra Alta Vineyard

The gastronomic grape

Do you enjoy alternative style wines veering off from the usual heavy handed, ripe or oaky style typical of “California” wine?  Then  you should seriously consider attending the Grand Wine Tasting sponsored by TAPAS – that is, the Tempranillo Advocates Producers & Amigos Society – this coming Saturday, June 19, 2012 in San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center; and where, needless to say, a number of Lodi’s top producers will be pouring.

Jun 7, 2012 at 10:13 PM Permalink

Phenomenal 2010 Zinfandels, current & upcoming

Lodi Zinfandel picker, harvest 2010

Since fall of 2010, Lodi’s leading Zinfandel specialists have been saying that 2010 is the best vintage in recent memory.  Now that a few of these wines are out in the market, it’s time to ask the hard question:  is 2010 truly a “vintage year” for Lodi Zinfandel, or are some people just blowing smoke?

Jun 5, 2012 at 10:20 PM Permalink

LangeTwins Sauvignon “Musque,” the perfect summer refreshment

Tiny beads of recently LangeTwins Sauvignon Musque

Summer officially arrives in three scant weeks (June 20, 2012).  What will you be drinking?

In a region fast becoming known for its variety, from Albariño to Vermentino, there is one Lodi grown wine that has become the dependable mainstay for its exceptional quality – purely as a wine, and also for its palate soothing taste – as well as reliably great price:  the Sauvignon Blanc cultivated by fourth and fifth generation Lodi growers, the Lange family...

May 30, 2012 at 10:19 AM Permalink

Phillips Farms hosts star winemakers & press at historic Bechthold Vineyard tribute

Backhoed hole showing deep sandy loam beneath ancient Bechthold vines

Last week Wednesday, May 23, 2012, Phillips Farms, the agricultural arm of Michael-David Winery, hosted a gathering of eight other stellar winemakers and ten influential wine journalists in a vineyard walk and tasting of wines from Lodi’s oldest – and perhaps, most revered – vineyard:  the Bechthold Vineyard...

May 29, 2012 at 10:15 AM Permalink

Photo-reminiscings of 2012 ZinFest & Vintner’s Grille

No wine lovers like Lodi ZinFest wine lovers!

We’ll go dancing in the dark
Walking through the park and reminiscing…
- Little River Band

Enthusiasm was brimming during Lodi’s 2012 ZinFest, taking place under the gargantuan Weeping Willow trees of Lodi Lake Park...

May 21, 2012 at 9:46 AM Permalink

Many wines other than Zinfandel at 2012 Lodi ZinFest

Barbara Huecksteadt picking her Hux Marzemino

Lodi crushes about 40% of California’s entire crop of Zinfandel each and every year, and there are more pre-1960 plantings of Old Vine Zinfandel (mostly, still growing on their own rootstocks!) in the Lodi AVA than anywhere else in the state.

Therefore, Lodi Wine Country’s biggest, yearly spring celebration in Lodi Lake Park is called ZinFest, but make no mistake:  ZinFesters will be able to taste many more wines other than Zinfandel at this year’s ZinFest...

May 16, 2012 at 9:35 AM Permalink

Musical zinsations at the 2012 Lodi ZinFest

Snap Jackson (right) will get your feet tapping in a hurry at the 2012 Lodi ZinFest

It’s all about the lush, juicy wines, good eats, the incredible greens and blues of Lodi Lake Park, and last but not least, the music at the 2012 ZinFest that will add up to memorably fine event in Lodi Wine Country this coming Saturday, May 19.

Start with Snap Jackson & the Knock on Wood Players, a mesmerizingly fun, toe tapping, hand clapping, high energy acoustic trio from Stockton.  This three man hurricane will be walking around the Lodi Lake Park grounds, zapping ZinFesters with their roux of Americana, Bluegrass, Soul, & Old Time...

May 15, 2012 at 9:30 AM Permalink

Rous Vineyard’s immaculate perfection, with help from St. George

Craig Rous with his 103 year old zin vines

One of Lodi’s most highly regarded Zinfandel growths over the past dozen or so years has been the 10 acre vineyard owned and meticulously farmed by Craig Rous.  Rous Vineyard is located in the heart of the “eastside” of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA – a level pocket of some 30 feet of porous sandy loam soil, built up by millenniums of overflow from this major waterway, pushing down from the Sierra Nevadas – and Mr. Rous himself holds the position of Director of Operations & Planning of the Kautz family’s Bear Creek Winery...

May 10, 2012 at 9:26 AM Permalink

The chefs’ slate at 2012 ZinFest Cooking School

It’s all about foods we love to eat with Lodi’s lush, juicy wines under the 2012 ZinFest Cooking School tent this coming May 19 in Lodi Lake Park.

The Cooking School will start off at 1 PM with Chef Fabrice Dubuc of Wine & Roses Hotel, Restaurant & Spa – which has been rated among the Top 10 Most Romantic Inns by American Historic Inns – who will be demonstrating the pissaladiere of his native Southern France...

May 7, 2012 at 9:22 AM Permalink