After mentioning Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, most would likely run out of names to offer when attempting to identify California's wine country regions. But while those appellations go a long way in driving the state's wine industry with recognizable name brand labels and immensely popular wine country tours, there are numerous other pockets throughout the state that produce equally fine wines and contribute as significantly to wine derived revenue.
One such region is Lodi, which resides about one hundred miles due east of San Francisco. Vineyards began in the area in the middle of the nineteenth century about the same time as those of its more famous neighbors to the west. This inland climate is notably drier and hotter than the coastal region and the soil conditions and weather were found to be more conducive to growing grapes like Tokay and Zinfandel, though other grapes are also grown, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet. In fact, while Lodi has long been known for its nameless industrial grape production focus, the region actually grows greater quantities of the top five premium wine varietals than any other region in the state. Lodi produces almost twenty percent of the state’s total production, more than the combined efforts of Sonoma County and Napa County.
While Lodi’s focus remains mostly on bulk production from industrial vineyards which sell their grapes to large wineries with well known names but of lower price points such as Gallo, Sutter Home, and Mondavi, a number of family wineries have emerged in recent years. But don’t expect anything remotely resembling Napa or Sonoma in setting and presentation. The land is flat and dusty, the town small and unremarkable, and most of the 750 wineries (250 more than Napa and Sonoma combined), wouldn’t know what to do if wine country tours were to come up the drive. Even so, don’t be surprised when you taste a fine bottle of wine and inspect it to find the name Lodi, increasingly prominently displayed on the label.
