Borra Winemaker Markus Niggli with German whites at Mokelumne Glen Vineyard.
Photo: Dan Evans/Special to The Chronicle
This past weekend, a few hundred thousand Bay Area readers of the San Francisco Chronicle were treated to a full-color re-introduction to Lodi in a special section tucked inside Sunday’s paper.
It was the second annual feature exclusively on Lodi organized by Visit Lodi, and included a run-down of some of our top restaurants, as well as a profile of our revitalized downtown, and an eye-opening report on how Lodi has become the home of many cycling events with our picturesque winery-laden, easy-riding roads.
But what we in the wine biz anticipate most is another appraisal of the state of the local industry by respected wine writer, Jon Bonné.
“In Lodi, it is the grape that reigns,” writes Bonné, giving credit to Lodi’s multi-century experience with winegrape growing, but significant use of “Lodi” on wine labels is little more than a decade old. So Bonné dug deeper for examples of those who are making progress in taking the fruit of the land and, “giving Lodi an identity in the bottle:”
“There have been quiet signs of interest from outside, as vintners from elsewhere circle back to Lodi – this time, respectfully so. They have been drawn by sites like the Bechthold vineyard, whose organically grown Cinsault has, thanks to labels like Scholium Project and Turley Wine Cellars, become as fashionable in SoHo and SoMa as Warby Parker eyewear.”
Turley’s winemaker, Tegan Passalacqua, demonstrated his faith in Lodi by purchasing for himself the 1915 Kirschenmann vineyard near Victor. Per Bonné, “It contained exceptional Zinfandel, of course. But Passalacqua, improbably, sees white wine as the great hope for the 
area, enough that he is keeping old Pinot Gris vines and adding other varieties.”
With all the focus on Lodi as the Zin Capitol of the World, it surprises some to learn that the resident winemakers have become almost secretly fond of the refreshing whites we can make. It’s those very wines that are right in line with the more recent trend toward higher-acid, lower-alcohol wines, at least in some small way shaped by Jon Bonné’s own writing. Though the average everyday drinker is happy with big jammy Zins, there is practically a backlash against that style amongst hot sommeliers and critics.
So it was no surprise when looking in our own backyard for “Lodi natives” showing this style of winemaking that he gravitated to a short list, including Markus Bokisch (Bokisch Vineyards), Mike McCay (McCay Cellars), Kyle Lerner (Harney Lane) and Borra Vineyard’s own Markus Niggli.
He cites the collaboration between Borra’s Markus and Mokelumne Glen Vineyards as, “A perfect example of Lodi wrestling with its identity. The Koth family, longtime growers, decided to honor their German heritage with an astonishing range of grapes: Kerner, Dornfelder, Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt and more. They once bottled these themselves, but now sell to Niggli, who turns out efforts like a lightly spritzy Artist Series Kerner meant to approximate Portuguese Vinho Verde, 
and a white field blend called Intuition, a mix of Kerner, Riesling and Gewurztraminer (puzzlingly aged in all new oak).”
Bonné includes a summary quote from Markus: “There is a Spanish trend going on here, there is a German trend going on here, there’s a Portuguese trend going on here. We can grow whatever we want.”
The S. F. Chronicle Lodi section is a very welcome acknowledgement that we have taken another positive step forward on our journey to wider acceptance by wine critics. It’s also nice to see those working hard to blaze new trails – such as Markus with Steve’s support – being recognized for their work.
And, best of all, with the America’s Cup Challenge bringing visitors from all parts of the world, the Chronicle printed an extra 150,000 copies of the paper, meaning more than a quarter million people will now be aware of what a special place we have here in Lodi.
2012 Intuition Field Blend White
Lodi Appellation, Proprietary White German Varietal Blend
60% Kerner, 20% Riesling, 20% Gewürztraminer
The last 2011 vintage was described as, "This is a great wine, one of the best California white wines I've tasted this year. It's delicious. And complex. And constantly interesting. Every sip was worth savoring. And it was even more delicious the second day." - W. Blake Gray, The Gray Report
Boldly turning the pre-conceived notion about Lodi on its head, our winemaker’s personal experiment has proven to be a racy, refreshing success. A beguiling arrangement of honeyed vanilla peach custard scents with traces of white pepper and lemonness turn vivid and alive with a sip, revealing lemons, limes and peaches concentrating into a finish of intense juicy pineapple and oil of orange zest. All of these work together in excellent dry harmonic balance to please even the most demanding chef. We’ve got a white to marry with all those spicy foods that normally vanquish the best cellar selections. Spice up a simple baked potato, or go for shrimp spring rolls dipped in spicy peanut sauce – anything spicy and Asian. 200 cases produced. (07/16/13)
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