A current list (over 100!) of wines that celebrate Lodi’s sense of place

Late March blossoms in mixed old vine block sitting in the deep, rich sandy loam soil of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA.

Night and day

You might want to pass Goal and scroll all the way down to the end of this post to look at the list of Lodi grown wines that strongly express terroir—the catch-all French term for “sense of place,” in reference to environmental factors defining vineyards and wine regions perceived in sensory qualities of wines. I currently count well over 100 of these wines, yet no doubt I missed a few.

Fifteen years ago if I made this list, I probably would have counted less than a dozen wines that I could honestly describe as terroir focused. Lodi viticulture and winemaking styles have changed that much—drastically...

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Why, in Lodi, the finest sparklers are made from Assyrtiko, Albariño, Piquepoul, Bacchus, Clairette blanche, Grenache and Carignan

Clements Hills-Lodi's Terra Alta Vineyard, source of both Piquepoul and Albariño now going into some of California's most exciting alternative style champagne method sparkling wines.

One of the beauties of a warm climate region such as Lodi is that you can now find sparkling wines made from alternative grapes more naturally adapted to Mediterranean climate zones.

Not that Chardonnay and Pinot noir—the two primary grapes of France’s famed Champagne region—aren’t found in Lodi. There is, in fact, plenty of Chardonnay and Pinot noir grown in the region, much of it planted to supply big name sparkling wine producers out on the coast. A minuscule percent of the Chardonnay and Pinot noir grown in Lodi does go to local wineries producing classically inspired champagne method wines such as LVVR, Nostra Vita, Peltier Winery and Michael David Winery...

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Why big, oaky California whites have always been food-worthy

Coopering oak barrels, the use of which drastically altered the style and scope of California wine in the 1970s and '80s.

Nowadays we talk a lot about crisp, light, minimally or "non" oaked white wines. That's because they represent cutting-edge wines becoming increasingly associated with Lodi. We push that fact because we want to explode the myth that Lodi only produces big, fat, ultra-ripe wines. This is not, however, to take away from fuller bodied white wines that are often less sharp in acidity, and often perceptively or even generously "oaky."

Not too long ago (where does the time go?) people often referred to those kinds of wines as "cougar juice." Full bodied, buttery or creamy textured white wines often drunk more as cocktails than with food. Guess what, though? These wines can also be wonderful with food—lots of dishes most of us love to eat...

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