Lodi Wine

"Stuck in Lodi Again," Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969.

When it comes to wine Lodi often gets no respect just like in that song. In the last half of the 19th century settlers were planting the table grape Tokay, but also wine grapes like Zinfandel. Lodi is in the vast Central Valley known for farm crops, but not so much for quality grapes though most of California's wine grapes are actually grown in the valley, but are used for the less expensive wines (Thunderbird anyone)? 

It turns out Lodi is special.

Soil

That rich valley peat dirt. Thin, deep, lots of organic material.

Farming the San Joaquin Valley

Climate

Here's where the Lodi area is unique. The geography is flat with "the delta" running to west of town. The delta breeze comes off of the cool water of the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays late afternoons and blows across the hot farmland. So rather than 10 hours of 100 heat in the summer they get about half that. Their average summer temps are about the same as another area known for Zinfandel, Paso Robles.

Cool waters to the west; Sierra Nevada mountains to the east

Viticulture

The Lodi growing region has seven smaller sub-appellations. In short, as you go east from the delta the weather warms plus the soils change as you approach the Sierra foothills. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most planted grape followed by Zinfandel then Merlot.

Old vine zinfandel from Lodi

Wines

The Lodi region is known for its big, ripe, jammy Zinfandels although Zin is less than 15% of the grape crop. This has worked out very well for Lodi as jammy Zins are very popular. The nice part is that Lodi prices are much better than most coastal areas like Napa, Sonoma, and Paso Robles.

There are about 80 wineries in the Lodi area. Some have been there for several generations. Many other wineries get grapes from Lodi.

Old Vine Zinfandel

Okay, this is what Lodi is really about. In the mid-19th century vineyards were taking hold in the area. By late in that century Zinfandel along with Takay, Carignane, Cinsault, and others were planted. It's believed the climate and especially the deep soils are responsible for the vines staying healthy for more than a century. The oldest Zinfandel vineyard in Lodi is the Royal Tee (get it, royalty) Vineyard dating from 1889 -- a bit of winegrowing history.

One of what must be a zillion Lodi old vine zinfandels available