Having spent a lot of time in many of California’s wine-growing regions, it was about time that I made it to Lodi. A couple of weeks back I did exactly that as a guest of the Winegrowers of Lodi. Over a period of four days, the group I was with extensively toured vineyards sites and wineries. Along the way, we tasted something like a boatload of wine — maybe a little more. The trip was designed to open our eyes to Lodi as a premium wine-growing region, and it did just that for me. While I was aware that some fine wine was coming from the area, I had no real idea about the wide array of grapes being grown or how many boutique producers there are doing their own thing. In short, there are a lot of exciting things going on in Lodi, California, and I’ll get to many of them in time. For now, though, I’m focusing on one producer.
Bokisch Vineyards was founded after Markus and Liz Bokisch lived for a year in Spain, where Markus spent his summers during childhood. Refreshing this connection to his heritage made an impression on both Markus and Liz. After moving back to the United States, they settled in Lodi and bought land to start their winery. With their obvious love for Spanish wines and culture, their next decision made complete sense: They would focus entirely on Spanish varietals. Head over to The Daily Meal to read the rest:
Viewing entries in
Lodi
I just had the pleasure of dining with Randy and Charlene Lange, two of the owners of LangeTwins. Over the course of an evening, I learned quite a lot about their story as well as the LangeTwins wines. The Lange family has been farming in Lodi, California for five generations. For a large part of that time, they were mainly grape growers. About a decade ago, they decided to make their own wine, and thus LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards was born. They farm the property sustainably and are certified as such. This has a positive impact not only on the grapes they grow, but pretty much every aspect of what they do. They have been recognized in the industry for their efforts and it’s obvious how proud they are, not only of their wines, but equally so of the property that they shepherd. In addition to considering themselves farmers first, they pride themselves on being generational. Passing the property down the family tree is something they have palpable zeal for. Head over to The Daily Meal to read the rest.
If you love wine, you’ll notice that more and more often specific sub-regions are being listed on the label. And well beyond that, single vineyards are often highlighted. In some cases these vineyards become famous and take on a life of their own with numerous producers sourcing fruit from them. Single vineyard designated wines are quite common in the world of zinfandel, and a lot of zinfandel comes from the Lodi region of California.
Six winemakers from that area have set out to show how distinct wines from Lodi can be. Furthermore their goal is to highlight the specific vineyards. They have done this by choosing heritage plantings that often date back to the late 1800s. Each winemaker used exactly the same methodology to produce the wines. Head over to The Daily Meal to read the rest.