Perhaps recessionista fever is to blame — the trend motivating
former spendthrifts to embrace scrimping and saving as suddenly glam
— but certain wineries are coming out of the closet about
sourcing their grapes from low-cost Lodi. For years this Central Valley
AVA has sold grapes at a price that’s enabled many a mass-market winery
to pass along value to the consumer. But most wineries have chosen to
do so stealthily, slapping the generic California appellation on their
label and letting the fact that their winemaking facility is based in
Napa, Sonoma, or Paso Robles create the illusion that the grapes were
grown in those fancier and more recognizable regions.
But now that bringing lunch to work and shopping at thrift stores
has evolved from down-market hip to upscale haute, a few wineries are
feeling okay about waving the Lodi flag with pride. They’re surely
recognized as Johnny-come-latelies by the folks at Ironstone, a Sierra
Foothills winery whose founder, John Kautz, hails from Lodi and built a
hugely successful business as a wine grape supplier prior to first
producing his own wines in the late 1980s. So it’s with genuine
hometown pride — and the knowledge that the grapes of this region
are actually nothing to sniff at — that Kautz and Co. put the
words “Lodi Appellation” front and center on their label.
I’ve praised Ironstone’s Lodi Zinfandel in the past, but I was more
impressed by the 2008 Lodi Sauvignon Blanc ($7.99) we tasted
this week. This wine had a lemony aroma with just a touch a strawberry
and some wet-stone, mineral qualities. Its off-dry, nicely balanced
taste begged for another sip. Absent were the familiar herbaceous
qualities Sauv Blanc fans might expect, but nonpurists won’t complain,
given all there is to like in this wine.
A bit lacking in fruit but still enjoyable was the 2008 MAN
Vintners Sauvignon Blanc ($8). Over the past several years, MAN’s
home territory of South Africa has developed a reputation for quality
imported Sauv Blanc rivaled only by New Zealand, and this wine didn’t
disappoint (me, at least), with a peachy and slightly grassy bouquet
and some melon on the palate. Token Winemaker complained of its
canned-green-bean aroma and some rot in the finish.
His favorite hailed from Chile: the 2008 Nuevomundo Reserve
Sauvignon Blanc ($11.99), made from organic grapes. Chile’s Sauv
Blancs are made largely from cloned California grape vines, and perhaps
that Californication is what made the Nuevomundo seem more “classic” to
us both. Mixed in with some grassiness in the aroma was a little
grapefruit, and lots of citrus on the palate. Token Winemaker tasted
pear and peach in this bone-dry, light wine, and he praised its good
acid and balance as well as its lengthy finish.
