Home California Visits to Lodi over 2019

Visits to Lodi over 2019

Hawk Wakawaka
-
1

Soon after first moving to the North Coast, when I started working in wine, I was able to spend time in Lodi learning about the region. My first visit, local legend Randy Caporoso generously hosted me and drove me around for more than a week of 14-16 hour days. I returned again later that same year for 5 days in harvest. And have been able to continue to visit the region in the years since in pop-ins of a day or few days at a time. Studying Lodi has offered me the opportunity to better think through California history, its history of innovation, and the intricacies of the wine business in general. As a region it has been integral to the success and evolution of California wine, but as a region of growers it has at the same time garnered less attention than other regions, some of which also rely on its fruit. Reasons for this are varied, but regardless, I spent this year spending time with a range of people in Lodi listening to the history of their work, their families, and their knowledge of the region as a way to trace the lines of what is part of a behind-the-scenes legacy of California wine. People have been incredibly generous with their time and I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity. All together, it’s amounted to several weeks in Lodi over numerous visits beginning in May and going at different times until December. Following is a collection of Instagram posts I shared along the way in many of these visits to Lodi. As they are from across this year they include information from multiple seasons as well.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Kirschenmann Vineyard, Lodi – the first time I visited Kirschenmann with Tegan Passalacqua was just after he had purchased the property. He was in the process of identifying varieties growing in the oldest blocks and was considering what might need replanting or grafting over. The oldest sections of the vineyard remain but in a younger vine block he has since established a mix of high acid whites, including the Chenin Blanc shown here. The oldest portions of Tegan’s Kirschenmann Vineyard were established in 1915 by the Kirschenmann family, who also owned and planted other nearby vineyards between 1909 and 1918 in the oxbow area of the Mokelumne River. The soils here are Lodi’s unique sandy loam over chalky calcareous rock. Vineyards in this area close to the Mokelumne River are also influenced by daily afternoon Delta breezes that create a cooler temperature effect than the simple ambient temperature alone implies. The Delta breezes are also regular and strong enough to cause the vine to slow respiration and thus retain acidity. At their strongest, the Delta breezes effectively reduce vigor as well as they have the ability to reduce canopy size and sometimes break canes from the vine. The effect on a well managed vineyard is greater concentration in the fruit with still lots of fresh acidity. #californiawine #lodi #mokelumneriver #wine @ownrooted @turleywine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Dogtown Vineyard, Clements Hills (Lodi) – old vine, only ever dry farmed, planted in 1944 primarily to Zinfandel. It‘s a dream of a vineyard, and one of the finest of its kind, one of the first I ever visited years ago where standing there amidst the vines I felt struck by something like quiet nobility. Here, in Clements Hills, the soils are a little more structured, a little more iron rich, pink sandy loam than the sandy loam around the Mokelumne River AVA. The wines are too, a little more structured, just a bit more gun metal. Turley began working with the vineyard in ln 1997. Tegan Passalacqua opened up that first vintage for us to drink a few years ago and it had aged absurdly well, far younger than its vintage would imply. #californiawine #lodi #clementshills @ownrooted @turleywine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Dogtown, Clements Hills (Lodi) – here in the Clements Hills AVA the soils have a little more structure – a simple balance of particles with binding power, sand with a bit of organic material with a bit of clay – than the finer sandy loam around the Mokelumne River. Small chunks of quartz can be found amidst the soil here as well, and overall the soil is just a little more pink compared to the more flat taupe of Mokelumne River. The slightly more pink color reflects the slightly higher iron content and the bit more structure its closer proximity to the Sierra Foothills, where the parent material originates. In the background, 1944-panted, head-trained Zinfandel. #californiawine #lodi #clementshills @ownrooted @turleywine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Forlorn Hope 2016 Gemischter Satz, Lodi – where is the largest collection of German varieties in North America, you ask? Oh, you know, in Lodi. Forlorn Hope’s Gemischter Satz includes most of that library, planted in sets of a few vines per variety, picked and cofermented into one delicious wine. Full of flavor, carried on a long, snappy spine of acidity. A spine so long it’s even got a tail (that’s the part that snaps, you know, more a whip-whip-whip of acidity snapping in the mouth). Inexplicable yellow, and powder white fruits, savory notes, and a ton of sapidity. A favorite, though admittedly for a bit of nostalgia as I remember when @mdrorick first came upon the German vine library, and also for a bit of admiration that @mokelumneglenvineyards took it upon themselves to build a vine collection like they did, but mainly because the wine is mouthwatering, energetic, and delicious. #californiawine #wine @forlornhopewines @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Montezuma Hills, Solano County – the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region spreads across a massive reach of inland California from the western side of the Central Valley all the way to where the two rivers intersect at Suisun Bay, which is essentially an eastern bulb set off of San Francisco Bay. At the eastern side of the Delta region stretches the enormous north-south running Central Valley of California, bordered by the massive wall of the Sierra Foothills on the eastern side and the Coastal Range on the western. The sheer size of the Central Valley means it dominates the inland portion of the state of California. But its size and high temperatures also mean it acts as a kind of breathing apparatus for the state. It is as if the Central Valley moves as the state’s diaphragm, pulling air in and out across the landscape, while the Delta region acts as its lungs filtering and processing that air. As inland temperatures in the Central Valley increase, hot air rises, creating a vacuum effect that pulls colder ocean air off the Pacific to fill its place. That cold air is pulled through the gap of the Golden Gate, across the San Pablo and Suisun Bays, then through the Delta region, high speed along the inland river systems all the way to the eastern wall of the Sierra Foothills. At night temperatures cool and air currents reverse, though at far slower speed. The result is that at night ocean fogs are pushed north from the Golden Gate into Napa and Sonoma counties, and in the afternoon ocean winds race across the Delta, and along the Mokelumne River in the Lodi area. While the inland parts of California are warmer than the more exposed coastal regions, areas like Suisun Valley, the Bridgehead portions of Contra Costa near Antioch and Oakley, and the parts of Lodi along the Mokelumne River remain cooler thanks to the wind guaranteed every afternoon. The Montezuma Hills of Solano County run through this Delta region that stretches up to the western side of Lodi. Here, those hills are covered in hundreds of 415 ft tall wind turbines that help power the state of California, a testament to the intensity of wind in the region. #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Mohr-Fry Ranch, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – driving around Lodi vineyards with Jerry Fry of Mohr-Fry Ranch. The family has been farming Northern California since the late 1800s, originally in the eastern side of San Francisco Bay. After World War II home expansion in the East Bay expanded swiftly pushing agricultural work out of the region. in 1965 the family left the East Bay Area entirely and began farming in the Lodi region with a mix of table grapes, wine grapes, cherries, and almonds. Lodi has been one of the biggest suppliers of each of these crops in the United States at different times. As economies and climates have changed so too have agricultural markets. Since 2012 Mohr-Fry Ranch has consolidated to growing only wine grapes for producers both here in Lodi and elsewhere throughout Northern California. #californiawine #wine @mohrfryranches @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Owl boxes, Mohr-Fry Ranch (Lodi) – owl boxes through the vineyard are one example of integrated pest control here within what was Devries Ranch along the Mokelumne River. Owls nest in the boxes just long enough to hatch and raise their egg clutch then move on again but while there they help reduce the vole population, thereby protecting vines from the animals, which would otherwise gird the vines or decimate roots. After the owls leave the boxes the Frys gather up the owl pellets left behind and donate them to the local World of Wonders interactive science museum for kids. Local kids are then able to dissect the owl pellets to see what the birds were eating and learn more about their natural life cycle. #californiawine #wine @mohrfryranches @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Bonnie and Louie Abba, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – both third generation farmers in Lodi, Bonnie and Louie Abba are about to celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary. Bonnie’s grandparents came to the area from Germany and became well established farmers in the region. In Bonnie’s childhood her family grew what was then one of Lodi’s most important crops, watermelon, which were put on soft hay in train cars and sent across the country to the east coast. Louie’s grandparents made their way to Lodi from northern Italy. In his childhood his family farmed almonds, peaches, and wine grapes. Together Bonnie and Louie have continued to farm wine grapes, today providing premium fruit for producers both in and outside Lodi. But for a time they also grew Flame Tokay, which, until the advent of seedless grapes, were considered the finest eating grape available in the United States. Flame Tokay only successfully grew in Lodi as the combination of Tokay Sandy Loam soils with Lodi’s particular microclimate made the region perfect for the variety. Flame Tokay was also put on train car and sent to the east. The fruit that remained was made into both sparkling and still table wine or distilled into brandy. Today, very little Flame Tokay remains. #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine (But also, do you see these two here? I don’t think I could find a couple more charming.)

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Louie and Joe Abba, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – brothers Louie (here on the left, age 85) and Joe (age 89) Abba grew up helping their father farm almonds, peaches, and wine grapes in Lodi. Into his 90s, their father continued to work his vineyards. To harvest almonds the brothers would have to climb the then-enormous and own rooted trees (today almond trees are grafted often to peach roots and grown lower to the ground) to hit the branches with a mallet and drop the fruit. Peaches were cut in half, sulfured to preserve their color, and dried. Both almond and peach harvesting, hulling, and delivery were done by hand, all physical labor. Even so, wine grapes, Joe explains, were both best and worst to grow. Their father was fastidious in the vineyard wanting everything farmed with care but especially pruning, which Joe hated more than any other activity. But at the end of the season they made home wine together from a small section of vineyard they kept for themselves. And the resulting wine made farming wine grapes the best crop. Louie continued to make wine with his father from childhood until the end of their dad’s life and still makes wine today. Their first vintage on the street they now live was in 1944, making 2019 the 75th harvest Louie will have made wine in that same small section of Lodi. That also likely makes him the longest tenured (albeit non commercial) winemaker in Lodi and surely among the longest tenured anywhere. Incredibly our visit included all of us sharing a bottle of his 2016 vintage home wine while we shared stories, and the wine was delicious. Louie and Joe each continue to farm wine grapes in Lodi today. #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine (Seriously, could you have a more charming photo?!))

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Phil Abba, Louie’s 2016 Home Wine, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – Phil Abba, son of Bonnie and Louie, here pours his father’s 2016 vintage of Zinfandel, Louie’s 72nd vintage making home wine on the street where they live, and 72nd harvest of what they call they Abba selection Zinfandel. When Phil’s grandfather moved the family to this part of Lodi in 1944 the property already had an old vine Zinfandel vineyard planted at the start of the 1900s. As they continued to farm wine grapes on the site they kept several rows of vines planted with cuttings from those original vines, repropagating them as needed from their own cuttings. Over time they came to call the vine material the Abba selection, and have made all of their home wine since 1944 with their Abba selection vines. The 2016 vintage is delicious – full of flavor, with moderate alcohol, a dry, ultra-long finish and nice structural balance. Phil Abba, a 4th-generation Lodi grower, farms alongside his parents but also has worked to advance growing quality in Syrah and Grenache in the area. He sells the Rhône varieties to respected producers from all over Northern California, including Lodi. #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Historic Vineyard Equipment, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – until only a couple decades ago both grapes and cherries were most often harvested into wooden lug boxes like this one (shown in photo 1) still used today by L. Abba, aka Louie Abba, to harvest his home wine. For some California wineries the boxes remained useful into the 1990s as the relatively small size kept grapes from being smashed by its own weight. For vineyards selling fruit to larger wineries for larger blends like those that helped put the state on the modern day wine map such as Gallo’s Hearty Burgundy, grapes would be harvested and consolidated into the back of custom built harvest trucks the locals called gondolas (shown from the back in photo 2). Gondolas of this sort were specific to Lodi and were geniusly engineered to carry between 5 and 7.5 tons of grapes but still be maneuverable in the vineyard. What I love about these long standing growing regions like Lodi with multi-generational farming families is the incredible adaptability with locally wrought ingenuity that is displayed through custom equipment like this. To make the gondola a grower would take the front engine of a commercial truck (these are old enough trucks that they include fully spelled out lettering across the front GENERAL MOTOR COMPANY rather than just GMC), weld an extended scissor axel bed to form the body, then weld the 5-7.5 ton capacity gondola itself and simply set it on the back bed. The weight of the gondola kept it in place. It‘s remaining unanchored meant it could be lifted to dump once it reached the winery. (This sort of on the spot engineering is like what I grew up around in the commercial fishing industry – if you”re the owner-producer you don’t just buy new equipment. You use what you have and make it work – and so there is always a combination of comfort and admiration when i find it elsewhere.) #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Furrow or Flood irrigation – drip irrigation was first invented essentially in the 1970s to help farm food crops in the deserts of the Middle East. It began swiftly entering wine industries around the world (though largely, but not entirely, outside of Western Europe) in the 1980s. Prior to drip irrigation, however, many regions did still water vines via other methods, and some around the world still do water in other ways. Here, we see a glimpse of a method used through much of California as well as parts of South America and elsewhere through the 1970s. Furrows were dug along vine rows with a head berm put the full length of the vineyard at each end, then water was allowed to flood the vineyard from one side either by opening a pipe or by opening a gate from a river, pond, or water race. Very few people continue to use this method in California but some studies are now being done to reconsider how we are using ground water when it comes to agriculture. Paradoxically, the targeted control of drip irrigation for reducing water use might actually be creating a water supply problem. Drip irrigation uses water but not enough to recharge ground water supplies. Flood or furrow water, however, does actually soak back into ground water levels. Studies are looking at to what degree. Producers have also developed other means of trying to aid groundwater recharge. Wetland restoration along sloughs, rivers, and other waterways, for example, return wildlife habitats but also increase groundwater return. In wine regions around the world it is more often the medium to large size wineries that have the means necessary – land ownership, capital to invest, the time to convince lawmakers to maintain habitat laws, and simple manpower – to invest in restoring wetlands and wildlife habitats that help manage groundwater needs as well as other parallel longer-term, multi-generational interests beyond simple production. In this way, it is often the producers with a bit more volume but also a mindset for sustaining their surroundings for future generations that are able to have a more profound impact towards improving the health of their region. #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Wood Duck House – you’ll have to look close against the tree to find it but all along the Mokelumne River people have established wood duck houses to help restore and maintain the bird population. The wood ducks use the boxes only for nesting then after the young fledge go back to living in the surrounding habitat along the river. Here, the Lange Twins have pulled several acres of vineyards planted by their parents and grandparents in the 1940s from directly alongside the river and instead restored it to wildlife and wetland habitat. The wood duck houses are one way that locals have worked to help restore the natural bird populations of the river as well. While visiting this restoration project there were also signs of hawk, deer, other birds, turtles, fish and river otter all having also returned to the area. #californiawine #wine @langetwins @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Gill Creek Slough Restoration – Gill Creek runs through the Lodi area eventually rejoining with the Mokelumne River. Through the middle of the last century much of the slough area was populated by cows, which effectively cleared the area of natural habitat. The Lange Twins have worked to restore the wetland and wildlife habitat to restore local wildlife and aid in recharging ground water. These areas also ultimately have some cooling effect for an area as well though in small measure. We traveled along a great length of Gill Creek to check in on the restoration progress and found numerous areas like this that have been restored. This one I thought the most beautiful. Where i stood taking this photo (though not visible here) were visible river otter, turtles, wood ducks, hawks. #californiawine #wine @langetwins @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Flame Tokay – Here, Flame Tokay planted in 1889 in Royal Tee vineyard at Jessie’s Grove, Mokelumne River, Lodi. The European grape variety Flame Tokay was first planted in the Lodi region in 1847 and by the 1900s became one of the top crops of the region and one of the most sought after fruits in the country. The variety was boxed and shipped to the East Coast by train car as a table grape with farmers in the region forming a primary market from the variety. Its popularity was due partly to the fact that the Sandy Loam soils of Lodi combined with the diurnal shift of almost 40 degrees F at the peak of the season meant the variety grown here turned a brilliant scarlet color, and had more pronounced flavor. Lodi soon became the only area in the country to grow it. Farmers would make two to three passes as fruit ripened selling multiple rounds of firm fruit to the fresh-pack, train car market. Then they would pick what remained on the vine as well as any second crop later in the season and sell it to local wineries. Historically, Flame Tokay was used to make sparkling wine, white table wine, sweet wine, and smashed up fruit went to brandy, a testament to farmers in remote areas using whatever they had for food and consumables. In the 1980s, the development of seedless table grapes deteriorated the market for Flame Tokay table grapes. For a time it was still used for wine production but now it is no longer used as a table or wine grape. Today, there is almost no Flame Tokay remaining. Even in just the six years I have been visiting Lodi for wine research the acreage has become almost none existent. The 2018 vintage was the first in the region’s history to not record Flame Tokay in the grape harvest crush report. There simply wasn’t any. A few random vines do still exist mixed into truly old field blends. Those that do, like this one here, are enormous. At veraison this fruit will turn a brilliant kool-aid red. #californiawine #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

High Wire Trellis – expect to see more high wire trellis emerging as it reflects a foundational shift happening in the global wine industry. The system has been developing over the last decade and has become a standard for new vineyards planted to upright varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Petite Verdot. It does not work as well for floppy canopy or rot-prone varieties like Zinfandel, or Petite Sirah, and seems unlikely for Merlot, or Malbec but the verdict is still out there. High wire is still emerging but has been tested in a range of wine regions as a solution to labor shortage issues. It helps reduce the need for hand work, and reduces disease pressure by increasing air flow. Only one training wire at the cordon is used with the canopy allowed to grow and flop without any of the vertical training that has been so common for decades all over the world. The wire/cordon can be put at whatever height desired but currently people here are tending to place it around 6ft. The effect is significant on both farming and quality. On the farming side far less hand work is required as the longer vine trunk makes suckering and pruning clearer and faster. The canopy essentially spreads itself giving dappled light over the fruit zone without excessive leaf pulling. It also shifts the fruit to vine ratio with a few more clusters per vine but smaller clusters with smaller berries, thereby increasing the skin to juice ratio and maintaining structure as a result. The method also works well with machine harvesting, which has become far more common worldwide. I’ve been studying machine harvesters the last several years. The approach has evolved significantly since the first harvesters of the 1970s. Many producers are finding fruit quality comparable between machine and hand harvesting from the same site. Here, Brad Lange and I talking through the evolution of training methods in the region as his team farms everything: head trained old vines, vertical-shoot-positioning and high wire. While the highest end wines while likely never go to machine, it is clear machine use and quality will only continue to increase. #californiawine #wine @langetwins @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Know Place – go ahead. Pick the world’s most highly regarded winemaker. Eben Sadie, selected by the world’s winemakers as winemaker of the year just last year. Now, ask him, where is your favorite bar in the world. Know Place. That’s the answer. Regional leaders of motorcycle bike gangs, international agents of mechanical anarchy. It turns out once a year they all meet here in the middle of California at a tiny little bar where if you pick just the right day you can select exactly the music you want for that particular day of your life, meeting those specific people arriving together at Know Where bar. But here is the thing. Tegan said, if I am going to post a photo, there better be a monologue. So what you need to know is that many of the pivotal decisions made on California wine really do get made in a bar in the state in the middle of No Where but you are only hearing about it because Tegan asked me to ramble on just like this, way too long. #californiawine #wine @ownrooted @enfieldwineco @sadiefamilywines

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Sustainable Pest Control, Mealy Bugs – mealy bugs are a pest common through most parts of the world as they do well in moist, warm environments. However, a new species especially damaging to vines has taken hold on the West Coast of the US, inadvertently brought over by a vintner who took cuttings from a vineyard in Europe and established them in their own vineyards on the West Coast of the United States. The vintner saw vine collapse in their own site and the pest spread from there. While mealy bugs were not new, this species was and brought with it new viruses that impact vines, some reducing a vine’s ability to photosynthesize, some causing vine collapse. While the infestation took hold in one particular vineyard, the entire West Coast now is responsible for responding to the threat. One area that has been working to find ways to alleviate the issue while preserving efficiency and avoiding chemical sprays is Lodi. Researchers in California have been working with growers in Lodi to demonstrate and test protocols that eradicate or lessen mealy bugs (and thus the viruses) without having to rely on conventional sprays. Here, looking into the canopy of a vine you can see a white tag that is one key example. The tag carries pheromone disrupters that instead of killing any pests disrupt their mating cycle so that they do not breed. As breeding cycles for mealy bugs are relatively short, disrupting them in this way can have relatively swift effect. The tags are placed every several vines throughout the vineyard so require extensive hand labor at the start of the season, but then simply remain in place without requiring further tending the rest of the season. Growers in Lodi demonstrating the approach have found the tags are having a positive impact. They are successfully reducing mealy bug populations without use of pesticides. The region has created an invitation for growers throughout the state and beyond who want to visit such demonstration sites and learn more about both the threat of mealy bugs and how this research is improving sustainable approaches to saving vines without chemical sprays. #lodiwine #californiawine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Winter Pruning, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – for many families growing vines in Lodi winter pruning starts in December. Pruning any style of head trained vine (here in what I call a ladder style as the vine is trained vertically in a series of arms resembling a twisting ladder similar to what I always thought Jack’s beanstalk would have had to resemble for his heavenly climb to possibly work) requires hand work, which means a lot of people power to prune any sort of acreage. But many family owned sites or growers can’t manage the cost of a ton of people. So, they just start pruning earlier to allow the many days required for a few people to prune all the vines, rather than a lot of people pruning all the vines in a short time. As long as colder weather has arrived, which it certainly has in Lodi, causing a slow down in the vine metabolism through winter, early pruning like this works just fine. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Jason Eells and Larry Mettler – the Mettler family has been growing grapes and farming Lodi since their arrival in 1899. The family survived Prohibition by shipping boxes of grapes East by rail car to home winemakers to make their legally allowed 300 gallons, growing the Flame Tokay table grapes the region was known for into the early 1980s, and farming other crops. After Prohibition, they became part of the regional winery co-op system that helped rebuild the state’s wine after the collapse of Prohibition. Then, at the end of the 1970s they became growers for one of California’s historically pivotal wineries. Larry’s father Carl Mettler worked alongside his high school friend, Robert Mondavi, to plant and farm some of the region’s first Zinfandel on wire (that is trellis rather than head-trained) for Woodbridge Winery. By the late 1990s, Carl and his children decided to take the next step and start their own eponymous winery while continuing to farm their own vineyards. Eventually they added vineyard management to their business as well. Jason helps oversee farming across their estate and managed vineyards, while also working with the family winery. The integration of multiple businesses united by wine – here, working as grape growers, operating a winery, and also managing vineyards for other owners – is an integral part of the most successful wine families in Lodi. The ability to operate across different aspects of the wine industry provides greater stability through diversification during evolving changes in the industry. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Wild Melons, Lodi – while I have spent a good amount of time in Lodi I have tended to be here between early Spring and late harvest. It turns out if you drive around the region in winter everywhere are wild winter melons covering the ground. The first pile of these I saw I thought it strange someone had tossed a bunch of melons roadside. Then just around the corner there they were again at the foot of a cherry orchard, then down the road under almond trees, then all through vine rows of an unpruned vineyard, until finally I called out to the poor grower driving me around, ‘my god, what’s with all these melons?!’ We spent the rest of the day checking vineyards while also hunting melons and asking long-time locals about local melon history. Here’s what we discovered. No one knows where they came from originally. They simply are wild melons that have been here in winter as long as anyone alive today remembers. The region used to be known for growing watermelons celebrated for how flavorful and sweet they were. But these are clearly not watermelons. In the 1930s and 40s locals called these Pie Melons though no one knows why because they were not used for making pies, as they are not used for making anything. The melons simply grow like a weed all over the region and if they are run over by a tractor in a field the fruit explodes spreading seeds and guaranteeing they will grow again. After a few hours of melon hunting we found this unplanted field absolutely covered in them, pulled over, and decided it was time to cut one open. Behold! The Pie Melon! How are they, you ask? Super juicy. Taste like nothing. #lodi @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The Delta Region, Lodi – on the far western side of the Lodi AVA, west of Highway 12, lies the Delta region, an agricultural zone actually below sea level and maintained by a series of levies and ditches that are inspected daily and pumped dry during high tidal or big rain events. The Delta is a series of islands in tidally influenced wetlands that would flood for around a quarter of the year before the region created an island-by-island maintenance program. Today, each island has its own maintenance board and an inspector whose job is to check every section of the levies, like those seen here, to make sure no weak spots have created leakage, or worse, the threat of flooding or breakage. Gophers on the dry side of the levy or beavers on the wet side, can dig holes that further erode and could lead to levy failure if not fixed. The board is also in charge of maintaining the drainage ditches within the islands that are designed to help reduce water levels within the islands so as to help ease pressure on these levies that separate the islands. At the far end of the drainage ditch system a pump pulls water from the ditches when needed and releases it back into the broader Delta water ways, the local rivers. We drove and walked the levy system between the islands and Delta land tracts within the Lodi part of the Delta. The levy waterways are full of wildlife – turtles, sandhill cranes, herons and egrets, ducks and geese, a ton of different kind of fish, crawdads, frogs, bugs, owls, bats, and for part of today’s afternoon, two crazy dogs. The Delta is strongly influenced by cold winds blowing in from the Pacific Ocean across the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. The cooling winds generate power via enormous wind turbines west of the region, and significantly cool the Delta and western Lodi on a daily basis. Breezes typically start between 11 am and Noon, leading to strong wind by late afternoon, then calming to still air an hour or two after nightfall. The result is that though Lodi sits at the entrance to California’s Central Valley it actually is directly impacted by the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Richard Ripken, Lodi – Richard Ripken earned his Masters from UC Davis in the 1960s going to work with Dr Harold Olmo, one of UC Davis’s pioneering viticultural researchers, helping to create, grow, and vinify more than 200 different crosses of wine grapes to work on more effectively honing variety to place in California. After his work with Olmo, Ripken continued with other intentional crosses of wine grapes to research their growing and winemaking potential in California wine. In the 1970s he started a vine nursery in Lodi, cultivating clean rootstock and bud wood for wineries throughout Northern California at a time most producers and few nurseries paid attention to vine quality at the nursery level. He continued the work he started with Olmo by persistently seeking out new varieties to cultivate and provide to wineries for planting. His discoveries would often begin by visiting international wine regions, falling in love with an obscure variety of the area, and seeing enough regional similarity to decide he would try it at home. As a result, he has worked with more than 50 varieties in his lifetime, not including the wine grape crosses he researched. His varietal choices were largely so unknown at the time he would make home wine from them in order to show winemakers what was possible with new varieties. Eventually, his production volume for these wines approached the legal limit for home wine so the family launched Ripken winery. Many of the more obscure varieties of California connect back to Ripken’s work in his Lodi nursery and much of the varietal diversity found in Lodi today connects back to his work as well. During the 1980s phylloxera crisis that hit much of California, Ripken helped motivate a vine quarantine facility in the state. His nursery served as both the rootstock source and clonal material for many of today’s iconic vineyards of classic varieties in California’s North Coast. Though it is often winemakers that get credit for a resulting wine, figures like Ripken provided the backbone to the state’s vineyard infrastructure that help make wines of recognition possible. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @ripkenwines @kgvm_llc @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The Maintenance Shed, KG Vineyard Management, the Delta (Lodi) – in my earliest memories I would spend time with my dad in the garage as he hung nets, repaired gear, or did other projects. He had a series of stacked drawer tool cabinets and storage drawers like these for bolts, nuts, and various parts. I loved peering into these storage cabinets and always hoped to have my own someday. Today I still feel most alert, curious, excited, and bashful all at the same time in repair sheds, or garages, and around tool cabinets, like surely the people who know how to use them perform every day feats of magic I have interest in seeing, even if it also makes me feel silly I can’t do such repairs myself and surely no one else expects or understands my desire to hang out with mechanics, repairmen, or in garages. #lodi @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Old Vine Flame Tokay, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – beginning in the late 1800s the region of Lodi became known for its unique ability to grow Flame Tokay, a table grape variety sometimes also made as part of a field blend for wine, or distilled into brandy. The unique sandy loam soils, cooling breezes, and abundant water produced an expression of the variety that was vibrantly pink and full of flavor in a way no other part of the country could. The vines were grown in a head trained style and vines were kept for decades becoming enormous bush vines full of vibrantly pink table grapes, thus evoking the name Flame Tokay. In the 1980s table grapes intentionally bred to be seedless emerged and the table grape market moved away from both Flame Tokay and for the most part also Lodi. Today, only two small fully Flame Tokay vineyards still exist in the region, alongside a few spare vines still standing in field blend dotted around older vineyards of the area. Here, a glimpse of one of those last two vineyards. These vines were planted in the early 1900s. Currently the grapes are being made into brandy. It is unclear how much longer the remaining Flame Tokay will continue to grow as, just like wine grapes, table grapes must be farmed. Without a market there is no way to cover the great expense of farming. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Tokay Sandy Loam, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – the Mokelumne River AVA within the larger Lodi AVA is primarily covered in Tokay Fine Sandy Loam. The alluvium soils are primarily derived from granitic parent material eroded and deposited by water. While the soil here is deep, it is also high draining with low organic matter and relatively low clay content, thus helping to alleviate potential vigor of some varieties. While water tends to disappear from surface soils, the soil texture and architecture allows vine roots to readily go deep to find water. Here, the soils in winter after a rain. While the soil is darker from moisture it has little clumping and the coarseness of the sand is apparent. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Mokelumne Glen German Vine Library, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – just a quick stop by what i am pretty sure is the biggest collection of German varieties in North America, Mokelumne Glen Vineyard. Years ago on one of first stops in Lodi I bumbled into this vineyard almost accidentally and was completely mind blown by the diversity of varieties planted and how well they were catalogued and organized, several vines of each type marked by a little wooden sign, then larger blocks of a few of the most successful examples. I immediately called several winemakers in Napa and Sonoma I knew wanted to try some unusual varieties and they bought fruit. The next time I returned and tasted wines from the family made from their collection. This trip, just a quick stop to wave at the vines and say hello. The library collection at Mokelumne Glen includes around 50 different German varieties, as well as multiple selections of some, over a 1-acre section of the larger vineyard. Here, the Roter Veltliner. The Koth family, who owns and farms the site, started their collection in the 1990s and have been hunting out and adding cultivars ever since. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @mokelumneglenvineyards @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Redding Cobbly Clay Loam, Borden Ranch (Lodi) – while the Lodi AVA centers largely around the town of Lodi it actually extends in every direction, including north from San Joaquin County (where Lodi is located) into Sacramento County. The Borden Ranch AVA sits in the far eastern side of the larger Lodi AVA at the southern edge of Sacramento County. In this eastern side of the greater Lodi AVA soils tend to be rockier. Moving north into Borden Ranch soils are largely Redding series, here, Redding Cobbly Clay Loam. These soils were formed through a mud flow essentially sliding downslope from what is now the Sierra Foothills as those mountains were formed. The top layer (shown here in layer 1) is dominated by mixed stones ranging in size, derived from a mix of parent materials primarily volcanic in origin. Over hundreds of thousands of years, from weathering, minerals wash through this top layer into (layer 2) a duripan, a cemented subsurface hardpan. This layer is unbelievably hard (I couldn’t break it with either my hands or feet) and prevents further drainage into the subsoils. As a result, Redding series soils tend to collect surface water that then disappears only by evaporation, not drainage. Beneath the hard pan, (layer 3) rests a subsurface layer of clay loam or cobbly clay loam. (Here layer 3 is clay loam without cobbles.) These Redding series soils trace the eastern side of the Central Valley along the Sierra Foothills in a 15 to 20 mile wide band that stretches from Redding to Bakersfield. The hardpan is impenetrable to plants and so this band of soils remained uncultivated, being used mostly just for pasture or cattle until the late 1980s when the technology to break the hard pan and mix the three layers of soils emerged. Today, Borden Ranch includes a mix of pasture, cattle, almonds, and wine vineyards. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Glacial Depressions, Borden Ranch (Lodi) – if you look closely at the pastures of Borden Ranch on the eastern side of Lodi you begin to notice dips and depressions across the surface. This texture was formed when ancient glaciers scoured the landscape leaving behind bumps and divots in the surface. These depressions are important in that they act as basins when it rains, collecting water that create ecologically unique pools in which an incredibly diverse collection of flowers, plants, insects, shrimp, and reptiles form. The underlying hard pan means the water does not drain from these basins, known as vernal pools, but instead slowly evaporates creating a completely unique habitat for various species that only occur here, in these vernal pools. In this way, the unique geology of Redding series soils found in a narrow band from Redding to Bakersfield is intimately intwined with a collection of wildlife, flora, insects, and reptiles that literally only occur in these pools in this specific part of California. Many species native to vernal pools are endangered including fairy shrimp and tiger salamander. As a result, extensive studies of these wetlands must be done before any development can occur. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Vernal Pools, Borden Ranch (Lodi) – if you follow the shift from yellow pasture grasses to gray coyote thistle in this photo (the change between the two is outlined here in the second photo) you can see the depression in the surface that forms a vernal pool. The vernal pool occurs thanks to a peculiar combination of circumstances. On the surface the depression in the ground was formed by an ancient glacier moving through the region and scouring the ground. Under the surface the soils formed a duripan, or cemented hardpan than keeps water left in the depression from draining. As a result, the divot in the surface retains water until it evaporates. As the water evaporates a different set of plants and flowers grow along the newly exposed ring of ground along the edge of the pool, each inch of evaporation revealing new species of plants. Within the water several species of fairy shrimp breed that only live inside these seasonal pools. Tiger salamander are also found only in this sort of pool. If it is too shallow the water evaporates before the completed life cycle of the salamander and they never appear. If the pool is too deep, bull frogs take up habitat and eat the salamanders. When the pool is exactly the right depth it becomes a breeding ground for tiger salamanders, a rare reptile native to this little part of California. Both fairy shrimp and tiger salamanders are endangered species and these vernal pools are also protected as a result. Though vernal pools appear relatively uninteresting and could easily be overlooked in late fall and winter, in Spring they fill with water and become one of the planet’s utterly unique ecological habitats, as well as a colorful display of wildflowers and plants that feed rare species of insects, birds, and reptiles. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I love the little, intricate details of Autumn. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Oaks in morning fog, Lodi. #lodi @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Sue Tipton, Acquiesce, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – talking with Sue Tipton about her white Rhône wines estate grown in Lodi. The first visit I had with Sue several years ago she was making just 600 cases and the demand through her tasting room was so great they were only open a few months a year and a couple hundred people were on waitlist to join the wine club. She and her husband make all of the wine themselves and use only fruit they grow on their property but have been able to expand production now just enough to be open year round for the first time this year, and expand the wine club to take care of the wait list. She’s also the first winery in the United States to grow, and now also bottle and release single varietal Bourboulenc. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @acquiescewinery @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Acquiesce, Mokelumne River (Lodi) – great tasting across the line up of white Rhône varieties and blends from Acquiesce. Great to see her with enough Picpoul Blanc to bottle it on its own now. (The first time i tasted with her she had so little she couldn’t bottle it on its own though i begged her to.) It’s a stand out. Fun too to see her working with some of the other lesser known Rhône varieties. Across the board these are excellent with to enjoy alongside a meal. Here from top left: Sparkling Grenache Blanc made with Methode Traditionelle; Picpoul Blanc; Grenache Blanc; Ingenue blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanc, Bourboulenc, Picpoul Blanc; Bourboulenc; Belle Blanc blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier; Roussane; Viognier; and Rosé of Grenache Noir. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @acquiescewinery @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The 2019 Lodi Notebook – there it is, the Lodi Notebook. I‘ve been lucky enough to spend time in Lodi since just after we moved to the North Coast when I started working in wine several years ago. My first visit local legend Randy Caparoso generously hosted me and drove me around for more than a week of 14-16 hour days. I returned again later that same year for 5 days in harvest. Then have continued to visit in a day or couple days pop-ins ever since. Studying Lodi has offered me the opportunity to better think through California history, innovation, and the wine business more clearly than almost any other region. The history and evolution of California wine has been deeply dependent on Lodi grape growing. Being trusted with the time to listen to growers and producers there to trace through the behind the scenes history of the place has helped me better understand everything from farming, to trends, to the grape market, to viticultural practices, to technological change, to wine quality. Lodi doesn’t get as much attention as some regions but there is plenty of substance there to grasp and a unique range of expressions and wine quality to be explored. This year I started doing drive through visits, overnight jaunts, and several multi-day stretches to Lodi in May, hitting several weeks all together, and today filled up the last of my 2019 Lodi notebook. Thank you to everyone in the region who has been so generous with their time. #lodiwine #lodi #wine @lodi_wine

A post shared by Elaine Chukan Brown (@hawk_wakawaka) on

Copyright 2019 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com.

1 COMMENT

Leave a Reply

© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv