{"title":"Lodi \u0026 Sierra Foothills","description":"\u003cp\u003eLodi and the Sierra Foothills, while distinct regions, share a common thread as areas of California that offer a different experience from the state's more famous coastal appellations. Lodi, located in the Central Valley east of San Francisco and just south of Sacramento, is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with warm days and cool nights, benefiting from delta breezes. The Sierra Foothills, as the name suggests, lies further east, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, with varied elevations and a warmer, drier climate. Both areas have a large quantity of old vines, proof of a long history of grape growing. Often seen as an insider's secret, these areas are garnering increased attention for their ability to produce Zinfandel, along with other varieties, offering distinct expressions of California terroir.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"clos-saron-home-vineyard-pinot-noir-sierra-foothills-2018","title":"Clos Saron Home Vineyard Pinot Noir Sierra Foothills 2018","description":"","brand":"Few \u0026 Far Wine Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44308398473439,"sku":"","price":82.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8101799.jpg?v=1691720681"},{"product_id":"ryme-cellars-aglianico-camino-alto-2020","title":"Ryme Cellars Aglianico Camino Alto Vineyard 2020","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Craft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47033520914655,"sku":null,"price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P6031253.jpg?v=1749001044"},{"product_id":"orixe-sotelo-albor-2023","title":"Orixe Sotelo Albor 2023","description":"","brand":"Few \u0026 Far Wine Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47182782660831,"sku":null,"price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P7291585.jpg?v=1753848300"},{"product_id":"clos-saron-stone-soup-syrah-sierra-foothills-2019","title":"Clos Saron Stone Soup Syrah Sierra Foothills 2019","description":"","brand":"Few \u0026 Far Wine Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47235266150623,"sku":null,"price":88.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8141715.jpg?v=1755225455"},{"product_id":"clos-saron-pinot-noir-home-vineyard-2019","title":"Clos Saron Pinot Noir Home Vineyard 2019","description":"","brand":"Few \u0026 Far Wine Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47235266576607,"sku":null,"price":88.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8141714.jpg?v=1755225432"},{"product_id":"clos-saron-zinfandel-black-swan-2022","title":"Clos Saron Zinfandel Black Swan 2022","description":"","brand":"Few \u0026 Far Wine Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47235266904287,"sku":null,"price":44.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8141713.jpg?v=1755225404"},{"product_id":"sidekick-merlot-2022","title":"Sidekick Merlot 2022","description":"","brand":"Classic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47452782657759,"sku":null,"price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/PA012074.jpg?v=1759433354"},{"product_id":"fine-disregard-wine-co-carignane-2022","title":"Fine Disregard Wine Co Carignane 2022","description":"","brand":"Wine Down Selections","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48435587907807,"sku":null,"price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P2070841.jpg?v=1770759059"},{"product_id":"sandlands-lodi-zinfandel-2023","title":"Sandlands Lodi Zinfandel 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost people dismiss Lodi as too hot for serious wine. The reality is more complicated. During summer heat waves, St. Helena in Napa and parts of northern Sonoma regularly run hotter than Lodi, and the Delta breeze sweeps the region each evening, cold Pacific air funneling east through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and dropping temperatures dramatically after dark. More telling is what the soils reveal. Kirschenmann Vineyard sits on the east side of Lodi's Mokelumne River AVA in silica-rich, white decomposed granite sand, porous enough that grapevines survive on their own rootstocks for over a century. Phylloxera never established itself in this kind of sand. The vines planted here in 1915 are still producing on their original roots, head-trained and dry-farmed, and that sandy soil produces wines that are fine-grained and detail-oriented, not the heavy, overripe profile that Lodi's reputation has long suggested.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e100% Zinfandel from Kirschenmann Vineyard, destemmed, fermented with native yeast in neutral vessels, and aged entirely in neutral French oak (3-8 year old barrels). No acid additions, no water, no new oak. Passalacqua picks early, targeting lower Brix for suave tannins and a genuine acid backbone. The 2023 vintage cooperated: a wet winter brought 32 inches of rain (more than double Lodi's 14-inch annual average), delayed budbreak by two to three weeks, and pushed harvest well into fall. Physiological ripeness came at lower sugar levels than a typical Lodi year. Bright Bing cherry and herbes de Provence aromas open the wine, shifting toward violet with air. The palate has savory drive, meaty and prickled by acidity, with wild fennel and licorice threading through from mid-palate to the finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSandlands is the personal project of Tegan Passalacqua, a Napa Valley native who built his career working in cellars across three continents. He worked with Eben Sadie in the Swartland of South Africa, with Alain and Maxime Graillot in the Northern Rhone Valley, and at Craggy Range in New Zealand before spending more than 20 years at Turley Wine Cellars, rising from harvest intern to Winemaker and Vineyard Manager. Sandlands launched in 2010 around a single premise: forgotten classic California varieties from own-rooted, head-trained, dry-farmed vines in sandy soils, from vineyards farmed for generations but largely ignored by the broader wine world. Passalacqua purchased Kirschenmann Vineyard in 2012, though the first Sandlands Zinfandel from the site did not appear until 2018. The wine carries no vineyard designation on the label, just \"Lodi Zinfandel.\" That restraint is intentional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe wine's savory, herb-driven character and bright acidity make it a natural fit with richly flavored food. Lamb chops with rosemary and garlic, grilled merguez with harissa and flatbread, wood-fired mushroom pizza, or pappardelle Bolognese all work well. The acidity keeps everything in check without requiring the food to do any work on the wine's behalf. This is Zinfandel for people who actually cook dinner.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stelvio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50079664144607,"sku":null,"price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P6060303.jpg?v=1780891934"},{"product_id":"two-shepherds-bechtold-cinsault-2022","title":"Two Shepherds Bechthold Vineyard Cinsault 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLodi has a reputation for big, warm-climate Zinfandel, which makes the most historically important vineyard in the appellation a strange fit. Bechthold Vineyard was planted in 1886 and is the oldest surviving Cinsault planting anywhere in the world. The vines are head-trained, dry-farmed, and still on their own roots after nearly 140 years, sitting on deep sandy soils in the Mokelumne River sub-appellation. Sand is the reason they survived: phylloxera cannot move through it. The other reason Lodi works better than its reputation suggests is the Delta breeze, cold air pulled inland from San Francisco Bay every afternoon, which drops night temperatures sharply and preserves acidity in a place that reads hot on a map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e100% Cinsault from Bechthold. The fruit comes in whole cluster, gets a light foot tread, and ferments semi-carbonic in small three-quarter-ton picking bins, then goes straight to neutral French oak puncheons without settling for around seven months of elevage. No new oak, no fining, minimal handling. That method is built to protect a grape with naturally low color and low tannin rather than to compensate for it. The wine is pale, almost translucent, with wild strawberry, red plum, dried rose, orange peel, and a peppery, dusty finish. Body is light, acidity is high, tannin is fine and barely there. 2022 brought an extreme Labor Day heat event across interior California, and the year rewarded producers who picked ahead of it and kept extraction light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilliam Allen started Two Shepherds in 2010 as a micro-winery focused on Rhone varieties that nobody else in California was taking seriously; Karen Daenen joined as a partner in 2015. They work out of Windsor in Sonoma County, where they hand-farm a small organic Grenache and Grenache Gris vineyard of their own, with a donkey turning the soil in winter and a cat handling the gophers. For everything else they lease specific rows from small family-owned growers on long-term contracts, farming those blocks to their own specifications. Bechthold is farmed sustainably and dry-farmed, and Two Shepherds is one of a handful of producers trusted with fruit from it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLight, high-acid, and peppery, so it belongs with food rather than in front of it. Grilled pork chops with peaches and thyme, salmon with herb butter, mushroom and gruyere tart, or a plate of soft cheeses and charcuterie all work. The acidity handles fat and the low tannin means it will not clash with fish or spice. Serve it at 55 to 60 degrees; this is a red that gets meaningfully better with 20 minutes in the fridge and meaningfully worse at room temperature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LeDuc Wine Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51195291893983,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8150118_ef9a3f58-de3d-4057-a407-5bb158035ffd.jpg?v=1786842645"},{"product_id":"klinker-brick-old-vine-zinfandel-2020-375ml","title":"Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel 2020 375ml","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLodi is not the sun-baked Central Valley most people picture. It sits directly east of the only real gap in California's Coast Ranges, which means cool Pacific air funnels through San Francisco Bay and the Delta most evenings and settles over the vineyards. The Victor weather station in the Mokelumne River AVA records average diurnal swings of 37 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit from June through August, with nights dropping into the 40s and low 50s. The vines grow in Tokay fine sandy loam that runs 50 to 90 feet deep, laced with granitic minerals carried down from the Sierra Nevada by the Mokelumne and Cosumnes rivers. Free-draining sand, granite, and genuinely cold nights are why old vine Zinfandel from Lodi holds its acidity instead of collapsing into jam.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZinfandel from head-trained, dry-farmed blocks the winery describes as up to 120 years old. Yields run 2 to 3.5 tons per acre, and as little as a quarter ton in the oldest blocks. Barrel fermentation builds structure into a thin-skinned grape that can go soft without it. At 15.4 percent alcohol the wine carries dark cherry, baking spice, plum, cranberry, and black pepper through a finish that stays dry. The 2020 season was the twentieth vintage of this bottling and a demanding one. Lodi received 39 percent of normal rainfall, May rain during bloom cut the crop about 10 percent, and August 16 topped out at 109.5 degrees in what became California's hottest August on record. Smoke from the SCU and LNU complexes crossed Lodi, but those fires burned 39 to 45 miles away and Central Valley growers saw very few smoke-related rejections.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteve and Lori Felten are fifth-generation Lodi grape growers. The family came by way of Germany and Russia, then the Dakotas, then California's Central Valley, where they farmed watermelons before the land showed what it really wanted to grow. After nearly a century of selling fruit for other people's labels, they founded Klinker Brick in 2000 and released exactly one wine: this Old Vine Zinfandel. The name comes from the dense, dark bricks used in Lodi's older buildings. The family now manages between 15 and 24 separate old vine Zinfandel blocks across the Mokelumne River and Clements Hills appellations, spanning 40 to 122 years in age. Klinker Brick is LODI RULES certified sustainable, an independently audited program covering more than 100 farming practices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a half bottle, which changes the arithmetic. Two glasses is a weeknight, not a commitment. Pour it alongside grilled tri-tip rubbed with garlic, black pepper, and smoked paprika, where the char meets the pepper in the wine and the acidity handles the fat. Carnitas tacos with pickled red onion work the same way, the onion's acid picking up the cranberry. Slow-smoked pork shoulder with a vinegar-based sauce stands up to 15.4 percent alcohol better than anything sweet. Or keep it simple with two-year cheddar and Marcona almonds. This is the bottle for the Tuesday you want something serious with dinner and no intention of opening a full 750.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maverick Wine Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51247924084959,"sku":null,"price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8220171.jpg?v=1787526007"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/collections\/drcmontrachet_a_drone_camera_shot_of_a_vineyard_scene_in_amad_b443ef74-4695-4d3b-9fcc-07f6196bc6d8_3.png?v=1740243141","url":"https:\/\/danverwinemerchant.com\/collections\/lodi-sierra-foothills.oembed","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}