Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Come on Lodi, Prove Me Wrong

The story: I'm skeptical about Lodi. With normal high temperatures in July and August reaching the upper 90's, no apparent coastal influence, and a reputation as just another town in California's lackluster Central Valley, I'm concerned. Just so I'm clear I do not think the Central Valley as a whole is lackluster (who doesn't love Kettleman City?), but as a grape growing region it primarily fuels the jug wines that used to be hidden in my Evangelical college dorm room's closet. At the same time I'm fascinated by Lodi and seeking out information to prove my skepticism wrong. I know there are some good zinfandels coming out of the region, but as they begin to market themselves as an emerging wine region can they succeed? At what point does marketing end and established reputation take over? I have inquired about Lodi's emergence out of the 'jug wine' reputation and into the distinctive and reputable AVA status with both the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission, and a couple of smaller boutique wineries directly. I have not heard anything back. Now I clearly recognize that me, and this blog, are of no importance to the people who are working very hard in Lodi and believe in what they are doing. But I would love to get a little insight into what they are doing and share that information here, if anyone up there is interested. I am absolutely open to the idea that Lodi is on the rise, doing some interesting and innovative things, and has some validity as an equal part of California's vast quality wine producing reputation. I just want to see and experience this before I will completely buy it. Unfortunately the example of Lodi wine that I found locally (I purposely did not get a zinfandel) only furthered my concerns.

The wine: 337 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, pours a dark black opaque with just hints of purple hues. It has an inky nose full of very ripe blackberry jam and just a hint of smoked meats. The first thing I taste is a fake oaky vanilla, almost like vanilla extract, and then just tons of blackberries and blueberries. In combination the wine almost tastes like an inexpensive blueberry ice cream. The finish is medium in length, with a touch of spice but has no substantial tannin structure and comes off as incredibly flabby. Overall it is way overdone, and feels a little bit fake.

The verdict: I hated this wine, it almost made me mad. It made me mad because I know that this wine is available in large production and it does Lodi no favors. It perpetuates the reputation of the fruit being too hot, too large of yields, and just flabby, fruity, and simple. It is widely available in grocery stores (and elsewhere) for about $11-$13. I give it a 2 out of 5. That said, there are people who will like this wine simply because it tastes like artificial blueberry ice cream, so it may have its place as your party's 5th bottle of wine with friends who don't care much about wine.

Now that this is behind us, folks in Lodi I want to believe, I want to be converted. Point me in the right direction and I will gladly seek it out and report back. If Lodi comes down as a place only for zinfandel and stale John Fogerty references I am also okay with that, but I'm rooting for a rise of the underdog type of story so help me believe.
Posted by at 6:45 AM
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7 comments:

  1. Hey Scott,
    I'm glad you're calling Lodi out. I have to say I haven't revisited any wines from Lodi since my last Ravenswood Lodi Zin, which as I recall was great, but that was so many years ago I wonder if it wasn't a rookie palate enjoyment. Perhaps I need to get stuck up in Lodi again...

    Cheers!
    Brian
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  2. I'm only calling it out because I find it to be one of the only regions in California that is presenting itself as emerging. I hear jokes about it, but also see some serious press about some of the good things it is doing. So I think it is an area of interest. Now I just want to experience the good stuff, and find out what the difference is.
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  3. I can't speak for Lodi in general, but I actually represent a nice viognier (of all things)from a single vineyard there. It's made by Bill Arbios (he's an Alexander Valley cab guy but dabbles in other grapes by way of his Praxis label). Arbios thinks that viognier actually needs the extra heat that you get in Lodi. Very counter intuitive given that the grape is acidity challenged to begin with. But his is all stainless steel (unusual for viognier treatment regardless of where it's from) which must make a huge difference. It starts out all citrus and white pepper (not viognier-like in other words) but as it warms it shows some viognier body and the floral and tropical viognier stuff. An interesting wine, if not a classic rendition of viognier. The current release is the '07 and I'm about sold out in NYC.
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  4. Yeah, I've gotten a few tips and invites to experience some different Lodi juice. After Wine Blogger's Conference in Walla Walla I'm going to head up and try my best to be impressed by what they are doing. I know there are a lot of hard working folks, long time family farms, and believers and I am very open. Thanks Todd.
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  5. Hi Scott,

    I'd agree that "emerging" is a good word, because it's going to take awhile for Lodi to fully "arrive".

    I own one Lodi label, consult for several Lodi wineries, and write about it for the local paper (http://lodiwineguy.com), and I'll be the first to admit that Lodi is torn between the success of Mondavi with Woodbridge at developing very drinkable, everyday wines for the mass market, versus stretching our skills to produce critically-acclaimed wines of complexity and structure.

    It almost boils down to attention to detail with more-expensive vineyard work, and how much, if any, concentrate a winery puts into the wine.

    The majority of winegrape growers here are still trying to grow as much tonnage per acre as they can get with quality just good enough for Constellation and Gallo. There is, however, a very determined and passionate group of winegrape growers who go to great lengths to figure out their vineyards, replanting to varieties better suited to their particular terroir as necessary. (One grower was even willing to pick just the south side of Petite Sirah rows for me one year, leaving the north side clusters that hadn't arrived at the optimal flavors yet.)

    In the wineries, especially with the recession, it's been tempting to take advantage of the market demand for $10-15 wines and sweeten what would otherwise be pretty nice wines just to maximize cash flow.

    It's important to understand that we do get a pretty significant marine influence at the end of each day as the heat from the northern and southern Central Valley upwells, dragging in a strong Delta Breeze that knocks off 30 degrees from our 4pm high. It's also interesting to note that our degree-days are close in profile to upper St. Helena and Calistoga.

    Therefore, with varietals, in general, there is no way a Lodi Cab is going to have the structure and taste just like a Napa Cab from most of Napa's most highly-regarded AVAs. And most of Lodi's Cabs do have what I'd also call a fake quality where oak is trying to make very ripe fruit more serious.

    On the other hand, Zin and many of the Rhone and Iberian varieties do pretty well in warm climates, similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, northern Napa, Sonoma and Paso.

    Some wineries you might want to try out for passionate, non-fake examples of what Lodi can do are: Peirano (2007 Tempranillo), Bokisch (2009 Albarino Las Cerezas), Harney Lane (2007 Lizzie James Zin), Jessie's Grove (2006 Petite Sirah), Ripken (2006 Late Harvest Viognier), Borra (2006 47.5 Syrah), and, of course, Pantheon Cellars (Lot 06 Panthos http://panthos.com).

    Thanks for all you're doing to try and understand Lodi, and please feel free to look me up when you make it over here - jon@pantheoncellars.com.

    Sincerely,

    Jon Bjork
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  6. Jon -

    You just made my day. This is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. You can count on me looking you up and coming up this summer. That you very much for your thoughtful and useful information.
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  7. Thanks for the nice new blog!
    ReplyDelete

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