Harvest images of Church Block, an all-time great historic Lodi vineyard

Early morning harvest morning in Lodi's historic Church Block Vineyard.

At the break of dawn this past Monday, September 23, Markus Wine Co. owner/grower/winemaker Markus Niggli and his veteran crew of field hands picked the landmark Church Block Vineyard.

Church Block is located just south of the City of Lodi, and is just a postage stamp-sized block (1.5 acres) located just east of the old Borra Vineyards winery and estate, which shuttered in 2019, the year before the death of owner/grower and founder Steve Borra. 

The late, great, legendary Steve Borra.

These are, for the Lodi AVA, extremely historical places and faces. Borra was the very first of the modern day, independent wineries established in Lodi, bonded in 1975. Mr. Borra will be long remembered as a breaker of barriers; his wines, all the way to the end, always among the most innovative in the appellation.

The Historic Vineyard Society certified Church Block Vineyard, flanked by old olive trees and owl boxes, during the 2024 harvest morning.

Hence, after Niggli registered Church Block in the rolls of California's Historic Vineyard Society, he had the HVS sign planted alongside the vineyard on Armstrong Rd. marked with the words, "In honor of Steve Borra Sr.". The vineyard is also among the global listing of historic growths established this past year by the UK-based Old Vine Registry.

The vineyard is still owned by the late Mr. Borra's daughter, Gina Granlees, and is cultivated year-round by Niggli, literally by own hands.

Gobelet trained own-rooted old vine Church Block Carignan during the 2024 harvest

The vineyard itself tells its own story. According to Niggli, there is no paper trail indicating exactly when the vineyard was planted, but most likely the first grapevines⏤classically gobelet (i.e., head trained in a "goblet" configuration) shaped Carignan, Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah, plus a few stray, spindly Zinfandel plants⏤went into the ground somewhere around 1935. 

 

2024 hand harvest of head trained Petite Sirah in the historic Church Block Vineyard.

The tiny block⏤separated from the original Borra home estate by a narrow field of old vine Zinfandel and Grenache owned by the Manassero family⏤was donated to the Catholic church in the 1960s. The local diocese never made use of the property, and so it was sold to the Borra family in the early 1970s.

Markus Wine Co. owner/grower/winemaker Markus Niggli with old vine Mokelumne River-Lodi Carignan.

After the Swiss born Markus Niggli arrived in Lodi to take on the job of Borra Vineyards winemaker in 2006, he became fascinated by the "field blend" located on the other side of the Manassero block; by then, consisting of roughly a third each of Carignan, Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah.

Old vine Petite Sirah—a rarity in itself in Lodi and everywhere else in California—in the historic Church Block Vineyard.

Although these Mediterranean Basin cultivars thrived in the rich, deep, ultra-sandy soils typifying Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA, by the 2000s yearly yields were barely over a ton per acre.

 Own-rooted Historic Vineyard Society certified Carignan during Church Block's 2024 harvest.

Niggli's natural instinct, which is European influenced, was to pick the entire block in one fell swoop and ferment all the different grapes together. Earliest bottlings were called, simply, Borra Vineyards "Field Blend," and consisted of the three varieties cultivated in the Church Block plus old vine Barbera (planted in the 1970s) picked at the same time from the Borra home estate. In 2010 the field blend began to be bottled as "Heritage" red, the label depicting an illustration of Steve Borra walking through the vineyards in his signature Western hat. The 2010 consisted of 47% Barbera, 22% Petite Sirah, 18% Alicante Bouschet and 13% Carignane. 

The 2010 Borra Heritage Red—depicting the late Steve Borra in his signature western hat—consisting of field blended grapes from Church Block Vineyard combined with old vine Barbera from Borra Vineyards' original home estate.

Upon the release of the 2010, Mr. Niggli explained that one of the most intriguing things about these yearly field blends is that... 

How the wine actually turns out every year is always a mystery. It depends upon how much of each of the grapes come in, which is something always determined by Mother Nature. In 2010 we got more Barbera than expected, and that’s what gives the wine such bright, high acid components. The Alicante Bouschet gives it the intense color, and the Petite Sirah and Carignan adds the spiciness.

Pickers equipped with headlamps harvesting 2024 old vine Alicante Bouschet at the break of dawn in Church Block Vineyard.

After this past Monday's Church Block harvest I asked Mr. Niggli to elaborate further on this historic vineyard. In his own words...

We always pick our grapes with the same crew, during the five weeks it usually takes to get through the harvest. We rely on this particular group because they are trained to pick only the good and healthy fruit, and leave the rest behind. They love to pick the the Church Block as well as Nicolini Ranch [old vine Carignan located further south in Mokelumne River-Lodi] since the fruit in these old blocks is clean and exposed, requiring a minimum amount of digging through heavy canopies and rot.

2024 harvest of Church Block Alicante Bouschet at the break of dawn.

Since taking over the farming of Church Block, I've been managing it myself. That means, I prune it, sucker it, shoot-thin it by myself. Sometimes, if time is pushing, I get an extra person who does the work right next to me, to complete the job on time. I think time is of the essence here, especially when it comes to suckering and shoot-thinning. If you are late getting to these jobs, you end up spending more time on each vine, which costs more money. 

Macrobins filled by Alicante Bouschet and Carignan just before dawn in Church Block Vineyard.

Also, once the fruit is set it is already exposed to the sun. You get almost no sunburn as long as the plant stays healthy. In years when there is mildew (like in 2023) or hail (I think back in 2017), the crop goes down in quality fast, and eventually you have to call it a loss. But in recent years, things have generally worked out great.

Field sorting MOG ("material other than grapes") in bins filled with old vine Alicante Bouschet in Church Block Vineyard.

Church Block has been improved over the years. Once we added the irrigation pipes above ground, the plants actually got water. Back in the early 2000s, Steve [Borra] had the great idea to be fancy and go subsurface with the irrigation of the old vines. Yields ended up dropping to nothing⏤the lowest yield on record for the entire vineyard was just 1.25 tons total. This year [2024] we picked 6.9 tons. Extremely healthy grapes... wonderful!

Pre-dawn picking of own-rooted old vine Alicante Bouschet in Church Block Vineyard.

But Church Block was always special to Steve and Manuel (Mr. Maldonado, the longtime Borra Vineyards vineyard foreman]. It was block they always used to fight over, about who’s at fault when there was no crop. We added owl boxes to help fight the ground squirrels. In this sandy soil, I think the underground is almost like a freeway for these critters, but the owls did their job and reduced the squirrel population by a lot.

Close-up of Carignan clusters sitting on the ultra-fine sandy soil defining Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA in Church Block Vineyard. 

About ten years ago Steve passed on the block to his daughter Gina. She then called me and asked how I would feel if she pulled out the vines to turn it into a horse patch. I was able to talk her out of that idea. We made an agreement, as long as I take care of the vineyard and use the grapes, that subject is off the table.

2024 harvest of old vine Carignan at the center of the historic Church Block Vineyard.

Adding Church Block to the list of Historic Vineyard Society vineyards was almost a normal thing to do. By doing that, we continue to honor the work that Steve and Manuel started, to keep these historic old vines alive, still producing great grapes and wines.

2024 Church Block Vineyard Carignan harvest as the sun rises to the east.

In 2020, for the first time, the yields and quality were good enough to keep the grapes separate for its own program. Up until to 2016, we used the grapes for the Field Blend⏤a great addition to the Barbera growing just next to the Church Block.

Rare head trained Petite Sirah (almost all Petite Sirah vineyards in California are trellised) in ultra-sandy soil of Church Block Vineyard.

The field is now 33% Petite Sirah and 33% Carignan; the rest is Alicante Bouchet plus about 10 vines of Zinfandel. They all get picked at the same time and fermented together in one tank. Brix is never more than 22.8°, and the wine needs absolutely no extra adjustments. I have started to prune the field a little different, to get more Carignan grapes and less Petite Sirah and Alicante to make the blend a little more friendly. Church Block's Petite Sirah is dark and tannic, while the Alicante is dark and almost never really ripe. The Carignan always adds the fruit and freshness to the blend.

The art label for Markus Wine Co.'s  current bottlings of Church Block (called "The Church") pays tribute to the watchful visage of longtime vineyard manager Manuel Maldonado.

In 2024, you could clearly see the changes made, with the heavier middle section of the block (planted to Carignan), and lighter sections in the Petite Sirah and Alicante.

Old vine own-rooted Carignan being picked in Church Block Vineyard.

When I walk into Church Block I am always reminded of where everything in Lodi began for me. In this little patch of old vines, I can feel the presence of Steve and Bev [Beverly V. Borra, 1946-2024], and I know he is proud of the work we are doing in there every year. Every time I step foot into the vineyard, I feel like I am talking to Steve and asking for his opinion.  

Head trained Carignan harvest in Lodi's historic Church Block Vineyard.

These personal memories are for me. The good wines coming out of this block are for the wine drinkers. We have so many wonderful old vine vineyards in Lodi, I am happy that this is one of them. Selling wine is always like telling a story. I am proud to keep doing that for the Borra family!

2024 Church Block Vineyard harvest.