Baker's dozen of last minute Christmas ideas⏤Lodi wineries' top-of-the-line bottlings

Lodi Wine Visitor Center, the best place for one-stop-shopping the finest wines grown in Lodi.

Just seven more days of Christmas shopping. There is plenty of time if you are living in or within striking distance of Lodi wine country to pick up top-of-the-line bottlings from the local wineries.

Another great one-stop-shopping idea: The Lodi Wine Visitor Center, located at the corner of W. Turner and Lower Sacramento Roads (on the same site as Wine & Roses Hotel). The original idea of the Lodi Wine Visitor Center when first established by Lodi Winegrape Commission in the late 1990s was to provide a tasting room and retail outlet for wineries and brands that do not have tasting rooms. 

Today, the Lodi Wine Visitor Center performs the same function, while offering a wide assortment of carefully curated wines (i.e., wines that exemplify "Lodi" on a sensory level) from the local wineries.

Downtown Lodi in December. visitlodi.com.

This is particularly important because many of Lodi's finest or artisanal style wines are now produced in wineries located outside of Lodi. Top brands falling in this category include Sandlands Wines, Turley Wine Cellars, Haarmeyer Wine Cellars, Lorenza Wine, Marchelle Wines, Monte Rio Cellars, and at least a dozen more at any given time (see our recent post, Thou shalt covet thy neighbor's wines—handcraft brands flock to Lodi for distinctive fruit).

If you are going to give wine as a gift, it may as well be wines that the wineries themselves consider to be their "best." Of course, most wineries produce numerous wines they consider their "best," and so to assemble the following list we are making the choices for them. That is, wines that, from our perspective, exemplify either what these wineries are all about or what Lodi as an appellation is all about. Without further ado...

2023 Perlegos Family Wine Co., Thera Block Assyrtiko ($29)⏤Perlegos is a local winery founded by second generation grape growers of Greek descent. Hence, this dry white made from Greece's finest white wine grape. There is some reasonable speculation that Assyrtiko has been cultivated for as long as Greeks have been growing grapes⏤a mind boggling thought, considering evidence suggesting that Greek winemaking dates back as long as 6,500 years. And now Assyrtiko grows in Lodi, which shares a similar Mediterranean climate to that of Greece. The grapevines in the Perlegos family's Thera Block, in fact, grows like a weed. The grape absolutely loves Lodi terroir, and produces quintessential varietal character⏤honeyed, fragrant, and intriguingly briny/minerally. Ergo, a fantastic Christmas gift for even the most discriminating wine lover!

Perlegos Family's Thera Block Assyrtiko harvest.

2023 Haarmeyer Wine Cellars, Cresci Vineyard Chenin Blanc ($32)⏤This wine is so ironic. Why? Because it is made from a grape that produced enormously popular, mass market varietal white wines back in the 1960s and '70s⏤considered to be just as significant as, say, Sauvignon Blanc, and more important than Chardonnay. Fifty years ago Chenin Blanc certainly outsold Chardonnay as a premium varietal, although at that time it was produced as a medium-sweet wine. The irony is that Chenin Blanc⏤once considered an old fogy varietal⏤has recently been making a comeback; although, today, as a bone dry white wine that appeals primarily to young "hipster" wine consumers. The important thing is that the Chenin blanc is a world class grape, and West Sacramento's Haarmeyer Wine Cellars is quite possibly the varietal's leading specialist in California. The Haarmeyer iterations, as dry and tart as they may be to the average palate, are absolutely exquisite⏤a true connoisseur's wine. Isn't it ironic?

2022 Acquiesce Winery, Belle Blanc (50% Roussanne, 30% Grenache blanc, 20% Bourboulenc; $43.50)⏤Since 2010, when this "all white wine" estate came out with its first releases (more like dribs and drabs), this brand has shot out like the proverbial cannon to the very top in terms of acclamation and prestige⏤not just among Lodi wineries, but the entire California wine industry. Although Acquiesce now produces over a dozen different bottlings (all outstanding), their original and quite possibly still their finest white wine is their blend called "Belle Blanc," modeled in large respect after the white wines of France's Châteauneuf-du-Pape⏤the original inspiration of Acquiesce owner/grower Sue Tipton. Belle Blanc is the epitome of the purity, silkiness, intricacy and "elegance" wine connoisseurs often talk about when finding a landmark wine. Today, a true Lodi icon.

2021 The Bootleg Society (by St. Amant Winery), Speakeasy Red (Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah plus "secret ingredients"; $24)⏤Longtime fans of St. Amant Winery, a Lodi institution since its founding in 1979, may be surprised by our citing of this winery's "Speakeasy Red" as something of a "top of the line." Most of St. Amant's followers would argue that the family's Marian's Vineyard Zinfandel is tops; it is certainly among California's finest old vine bottlings. But this year we say it's the Speakeasy Red because now, more than ever, many aficionados of California wine are gravitating to blends of different grapes for the simple reason that quality is no longer perceived strictly in terms of "varietal" or even brand identities: It is in the pure sensory qualities of the wine. There are few red wines in Lodi that come close to the Speakeasy in terms of seamless, supple, intense yet buoyantly, joyously balanced depth of... quality!

2022 Christopher Cellars, Grand Cuvée (50% Carignan, 25% Zinfandel, 25% Cinsaut; $30)⏤Continuing 2024's theme in favor of blends, as opposed to varietals dominated by single grapes, we're giving props to this winery's red wine blend consisting of Lodi's three most historical grapes, cultivated in the region at least since the 1860s precisely because of these cultivars' origin in (and easy adaptation to) Mediterranean climate terroirs. This wine⏤consisting of 50% Carignan from Mule Plane Vineyard [planted in the late 1920s], 25% Cinsaut from Sprague Family (a recent planting in Lodi's Clements Hills AVA], and 25% Zinfandel from Stampede Vineyard [dating back to the 1920s and 1940s)⏤is quintessentially "Lodi": Carignan bringing refreshing acidity, Zinfandel a robust structure and mouth-feel, Cinsaut an enchantingly spiced perfume, and the entire package epitomizing the layering of fruit and velvet texturing for which the appellation is now known.

m2 owner/winemaker Layne Montgomery in Lodi's iconic Soucie Vineyard (own-rooted Zinfandel planted in 1916).

2021 m2 Wines, Soucie Vineyard Zinfandel ($34)⏤After 20 years, this winery still exemplifies small, independent wine production⏤as artisanal or handcrafted as any on the West Coast⏤while specializing in Lodi's heritage grape, Zinfandel. If you love the varietal's zesty yet sumptuous, wild berry character couched in sensory qualities that are distinctly "Lodi"⏤namely, gently rounded textures and earthy complexities (think fresh garden loam or humus)⏤m2 remains your go-to winery. 

2020 Mettler Family Vineyards, HGM Vineyard Zinfandel ($38)⏤Mettler Family is one of the region's homegrown brands (the Mettlers have been farming in Lodi since the late 1890s) that have put the concept of "Lodi Zinfandel" on the lips of wine consumers from coast to coast over the past 25 years. Veering away from the brand's nationally distributed bottling (nicknamed "Epicenter" Zinfandel), the limited production HGM Vineyard⏤named after founder Henry George Mettler⏤is a native yeast fermented iteration of the varietal culled from a block farmed by the family since 1899, first planted to Flame Tokay and then replanted to Zinfandel in 1968. The wine is pure "east side" Lodi Zinfandel⏤more zesty, flowery and red fruited than earthy, "big" or "fat" with blackish fruit⏤and comes unadorned by obvious oak embellishments, in a style becoming more and more appealing to contemporary, terroir-conscious Zinfandel lovers.

Lodi's historic Church Block during the early morning hours of Markus Wine Co.'s 2024 harvest.

2021 Markus Wine Co., Ancient Blocks-The Church (56% Carignan, 32% Petite Sirah, 12% Alicante Bouschet; $41)⏤Owner/winemaker Markus Niggli crafts a bewildering variety (over half a dozen) of blends, all native yeast fermented, each year, all of them distinctive and outstanding. If we had to choose just one, though, we'd go for "The Church," representing a postage stamp-sized block (just 1.5 acres) of own-rooted vines dating back to the 1930s, lovingly cultivated by Mr. Niggli himself (with, at the most, just one helper). In truly old European fashion, the head trained plantes of Carignan, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet are all picked on the same morning and co-fermented. The wine is intensely perfumed, just faintly earthy, almost electrical in natural acidity, and high toned⏤the harmony of grapes entwined like a soaring chorus of hallelujah voices. As purely and uniquely "Lodi" as they come.

2020 LangeTwins Family Winery, Midnight Reserve (55% Petit Verdot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc; $42)⏤Lately this family, which traces their Lodi farming heritage to the 1870s, has been specializing in sub-AVA and vineyard-designate bottlings of mostly Italian varieties, for the simple reason that they believe these grapes are ideally suited to Lodi's Mediterranean climate. Cabernet Sauvignon, however, has remained the house specialty since the 1980s⏤when the family first planted this ultra-premium variety at the request of Robert Mondavi⏤and forms the backbone of the LangeTwins pièce de résistance called "Midnight Reserve" (grapes are harvested in the middle of the night when temperatures are lowest). Unique to the region, this cuvée is buoyed by a large percentage of Petit Verdot, a Bordeaux grape that retains beautifully natural acidity and deep color in the Lodi appellation. A special wine that is as much about Bordeaux sensibility (particularly in respect to blending) as regionally expressive terroir.

Zinfandel clusters on 1904 own-rooted grapevine in Harney Lane Winery's Lizzy James Vineyard.

2021 Harney Lane Winery, Lizzy James Vineyard Zinfandel ($45)⏤This branch of the Mettlers also specializes in classic east side Zinfandel; their bottling of Lizzy James⏤from a vineyard dating back to 1904 (approximately a third of the block consisting of the oldest vines)⏤producing a wine that is as much about pure, vibrant, red fruited Zinfandel character as a sense of balance and elegance comparable to many of the great wines of the world, regardless of what grapes they're made from. Lizzy James' sensory profile can be understated to the point of subtlety, yet it is always fragrant and zesty enough to be tangible to just about any Zinfandel aficionado. Among the best of Lodi, thus all of California.

2021 Michael David Winery, Rapture Cabernet Sauvignon ($50)⏤In the past it has been said that Cabernet Sauvignon is not as natural a grape for Lodi terroir as, say, Zinfandel or Cinsaut, yet time and time again the Phillips family's "Rapture" has disproven that notion; garnering the highest blind tasting competition medals and magazine scores on the par with Cabernets from throughout California, many of the latter priced over two or three times more than Michael David's bottling. That's the story of Lodi⏤often overlooked, underrated and undervalued, yet very well known to the wine faction that counts the most, the consumers themselves.

Lodi grown Tempranillo moments after picking.

2018 Bokisch Vineyards, Gran Reserva Tempranillo ($64)⏤On this side of the Atlantic, this bottling is the closest thing to the famous Gran Reservas of Spain's Rioja region, aged over 5 years in wood and bottle to achieve an ultimate level of balance and texturing. Following a similar blueprint⏤applying it, obviously, to sun kissed grapes grown in the Lodi appellation⏤the Bokisch rendering achieves a similar feel of velvet and equilibrium, while showing off both the bright red fruit character distinctive to Lodi-grown Tempranillo and the penchant of the grape to only increase in volume and breadth as the result of extended oxidation in the barrel. Result: Still another Lodi original.

2017 Peltier Winery, Schatz Family Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($70)⏤Rounding out our baker's dozen of Christmas-worthy choices is a wine that, after seven years, has only been getting deeper, somewhat darker, and intense in the minty black fruit concentration everyone loves about this varietal. It bears mentioning that this is unusual for Lodi, a region known mostly for softer, fruit-driven styles of Cabernet. The difference, as in all the classic wines of the world, has to do with terroir: The Schatz Family Estate is characterized by a shallow, gravelly, clay-based hillside topography conducive to increased phenolic content (primarily in the way of tannin and color), in stark contrast to the flat, sandy soils predominant in Lodi vineyards. The real question, of course, is how "good" is this wine? It is more than good; in fact, memorable⏤a quality prized by all connoisseurs or collectors of good wine.

The reddish gravelly clay soil accounting for the distinctive quality of Peltier Winery's Clements Hills-Lodi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.