Good Value and Quality
This month’s top choices from the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center
compiled by Michael Perry
Wine doesn’t have to be expensive to be good. The following moderately priced Lodi Zinfandels not only offer value, they offer quality, and all three are made from “Old Vine” grapes. Enjoy the following vintages with pasta and grilled meats and vegetables, or as sipping wines with friends at a summer barbecue.
Gnarly Head 2006 “Old Vine” Zinfandel
Purple-red in color and clear, DFV Wines’ Gnarly Head Zinfandel is appealing to the eye. Aromas of cherry, dried grass, and oak are enhanced by flavors of blueberry, black pepper, and oak. Medium-full bodied, Gnarly Head’s moderate tannins augment a lingering finish of berries, spice, and black pepper. ($13) www.gnarlyhead.com
Campus Oaks 2006 “Old Vine” Zinfandel
This wine by Gnekow Family Winery is light purple with hints of pink, and has a nice clear color. Aromas of boysenberry and black pepper are complemented by flavors of sweet, dark berry fruit. The wine is medium-bodied with soft tannins, and finishes with oak, black pepper, and tart berry fruit. ($13) www.gnekowwinery.com
Benson Ferry 2006 95240 “Old Vine” Zinfandel
The 95240 is ruby red with hints of purple and is brilliantly clear. Aromas of fresh, dark berry fruit dominate with a hint of dry spice and black pepper. Flavors abound: cherry, spice, berry, and moderate oak all come together in this medium-bodied Zinfandel. ($13) www.bensonferry.com
For more information: Visit the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center, and taste from a selection of over two hundred award-winning Lodi wines. 2545 W. Turner Rd., Lodi, (209) 367-4727, www.lodiwine.com
Uncorked
Raise your glass to these fun facts
compiled by Jennifer Bonnett
Despite being a major winegrape growing region since the 1850s, Lodi wine is actually now becoming more popular by the year as new wineries and tasting rooms are popping up as quickly as we can keep up with wine country. But how much do you really know about this region and its vineyards?
Here are some quick answers to the most basic questions about Lodi wine country. If anything, you can impress your friends the next time you serve a flight of Lodi’s best.
Just how big is the official Lodi winegrape growing region?
It includes vineyards as far north as Elk Grove and as far south as Highway 4 in Stockton. Within that area, there are more than one hundred thousand acres farmed by more than seven hundred fifty growers. While some growers tend to thousands of acres, many have forty acres or less. That's still a lot of grapes no matter how you break it down.
When it comes to great wine, many people think of Napa and Sonoma. Does Lodi actually produce more wine than those districts?
The Lodi wine region actually leads all other California wine districts in the production of the top five premium wine varieties. This includes Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and, of course, Zinfandel. (In case you didn't know, Lodi is the Zinfandel capital of the world; more of these grapes are grown here than anywhere else.) Further, we found out that the region's average annual yield of about six hundred thousand tons of grapes is valued at more than three hundred million dollars, and makes up about 20 percent of the state's total winegrape production. That's more than Napa and Sonoma counties combined!
And, did we mention that more than sixty leading California wineries buy grapes from this area? That includes Glen Ellen, Beringer, and Fetzer, all Napa-Sonoma made wines.
What makes the growing conditions so desirable here?
Simply put: the weather. Lodi may not look like the blue waters of the Greek Isle, but this area has a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters.
The summers allow the fruit to ripen to its fullest potential, and the Delta breezes blowing through during the same season maintain the natural acidity required for good structure in the area's complex wines. As temperatures rise in the mid-afternoon of summer, the warm air rises, pulling in the cool air through the Carquinez Straits. This cooling effect is what allows the crisp acidity that is the hallmark of high quality wines. Due to our geographical proximity to the Delta and the San Francisco Bay, Lodi is the only place in the entire Central Valley that enjoys this effect. These two effects distinguish our wines from those made north or south of us.
