Vineyard Adventures

I can’t really say that thought I would be spending Spring Break in Lodi, California. It’s certainly far from any tropical or exotic destination I hear most of my friends embarked upon (Argentina, Paris…) but for a person fully invested in the study of the wines of the world, when an educational opportunity presents itself, however random the destination, one goes.

There is a wind farm on I-580 heading out of the East Bay and when I used to live in the area, I called coming upon this landmark as the gateway to the middle of nowhere. I must admit, I’d never continued due east before, I’d always hung a right and made my way through the San Joaquin Valley on my way to LA.

The weekend of California Delta wines began with a workshop from the Lodi Rules council. This is not simply a declaration of how “rad” Lodi wines are but a list of sustainability practices that local winemakers have collaborated in writing and voluntarily follow.

It’s this kind of straight lecture and presentation that really tests my patience when I know I’m an experiential learner. I glaze over when there is just too much blah, blah, blah. I do find the concept commendable for such a small region.

As my travels become more extensive and the more I get to talk to winemakers face to face without the pressures of giant trade tastings in NYC, I’m discovering that the wines I seem find of the highest quality come from those who are the most insanely enthusiastic in person.

For this trip, the winemaker I remember the most from the wines in the glass and the enthusiasm in the vineyard is Markus Bokisch from Bokisch Vineyards.

Although I can spew some sarcasm, I don’t think I will ever get over being very literal. I had noticed that Markus had his first few rows of Albariño in his backyard vineyard were quite a bit lower than the rest and of course I started thinking about all the viticultural reasons for such low training. Someone else beat me to the question about this and I prepared myself for a lengthy explanation.

“I wanted to be able to actually see my property from my porch,” he said. And my literal, over-thinking self was put right back in my place.

Read Randy Caparoso’s account of the entire weekend on the Sommelier Journal website.