Lodi Wine

The Lodi wine region lies in the northern portion of California’s Central Valley, which includes San Joaquin County. The eastern portions are within the Sacramento Valley, while its western parts touch on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, with noticeably cooler conditions in that section.

Lodi is known for its old vine Zinfandels, with quality production from other varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. One of the more exciting trends in the region is experimentation with Spanish varietals such as Tempranillo, Graciano, and Albarino and the Portuguese Verdelho. Flame Tokay had at one time been the signature grape of the region, now fallen out of favor, but still used for brandy production.

Though Lodi itself is a subregion of Central Valley, it is further divided into the following subregions:

• Alta Mesa
• Borden Ranch (home of Woodbridge and Sutter Home)
• Clements Hills
• Cosummes River
• Jahant
• Mokelumne River
• Sloughhouse

~Amanda Schuster