Here, the Lange Twins have pulled several acres of vineyards planted by their parents and grandparents in the s from directly alongside the river and instead restored it to wildlife and wetland habitat. The wood duck houses are one way that locals have worked to help restore the natural bird populations of the river as well. While visiting this restoration project there were also signs of hawk, deer, other birds, turtles, fish and river otter all having also returned to the area.
French plums — here, the Lange Twins have planted French plum trees along the edge of some of their vineyards as a form of integrated pest management. The plums serve as a wintering habitat for a very small moth that parasitizes the eggs of leaf hoppers, thereby effectively killing them. Leaf hoppers are known vectors for numerous vine killing diseases. By encouraging the moth populations through beneficial trees like these plums the vineyard can over time naturally rebalance both bug pressure and vine disease problems.
Through the middle of the last century much of the slough area was populated by cows, which effectively cleared the area of natural habitat.
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The Lange Twins have worked to restore the wetland and wildlife habitat to restore local wildlife and aid in recharging ground water. These areas also ultimately have some cooling effect for an area as well though in small measure. We traveled along a great length of Gill Creek to check in on the restoration progress and found numerous areas like this that have been restored.
This one I thought the most beautiful. Where i stood taking this photo though not visible here were visible river otter, turtles, wood ducks, hawks. The European grape variety Flame Tokay was first planted in the Lodi region in and by the s became one of the top crops of the region and one of the most sought after fruits in the country. The variety was boxed and shipped to the East Coast by train car as a table grape with farmers in the region forming a primary market from the variety. Its popularity was due partly to the fact that the Sandy Loam soils of Lodi combined with the diurnal shift of almost 40 degrees F at the peak of the season meant the variety grown here turned a brilliant scarlet color, and had more pronounced flavor.
Lodi soon became the only area in the country to grow it. Farmers would make two to three passes as fruit ripened selling multiple rounds of firm fruit to the fresh-pack, train car market. Then they would pick what remained on the vine as well as any second crop later in the season and sell it to local wineries.
Historically, Flame Tokay was used to make sparkling wine, white table wine, sweet wine, and smashed up fruit went to brandy, a testament to farmers in remote areas using whatever they had for food and consumables. In the s, the development of seedless table grapes deteriorated the market for Flame Tokay table grapes. For a time it was still used for wine production but now it is no longer used as a table or wine grape. Today, there is almost no Flame Tokay remaining. Even in just the six years I have been visiting Lodi for wine research the acreage has become almost none existent.
A few random vines do still exist mixed into truly old field blends. Those that do, like this one here, are enormous. At veraison this fruit will turn a brilliant kool-aid red. High Wire Trellis — expect to see more high wire trellis emerging as it reflects a foundational shift happening in the global wine industry. The system has been developing over the last decade and has become a standard for new vineyards planted to upright varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Petite Verdot.
It does not work as well for floppy canopy or rot-prone varieties like Zinfandel, or Petite Sirah, and seems unlikely for Merlot, or Malbec but the verdict is still out there. High wire is still emerging but has been tested in a range of wine regions as a solution to labor shortage issues. It helps reduce the need for hand work, and reduces disease pressure by increasing air flow. Only one training wire at the cordon is used with the canopy allowed to grow and flop without any of the vertical training that has been so common for decades all over the world.
The effect is significant on both farming and quality. On the farming side far less hand work is required as the longer vine trunk makes suckering and pruning clearer and faster. The canopy essentially spreads itself giving dappled light over the fruit zone without excessive leaf pulling. It also shifts the fruit to vine ratio with a few more clusters per vine but smaller clusters with smaller berries, thereby increasing the skin to juice ratio and maintaining structure as a result. The method also works well with machine harvesting, which has become far more common worldwide.
The approach has evolved significantly since the first harvesters of the s.
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Many producers are finding fruit quality comparable between machine and hand harvesting from the same site. Here, Brad Lange and I talking through the evolution of training methods in the region as his team farms everything: head trained old vines, vertical-shoot-positioning and high wire. While the highest end wines while likely never go to machine, it is clear machine use and quality will only continue to increase. Know Place — go ahead. Now, ask him, where is your favorite bar in the world.
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Know Place. Regional leaders of motorcycle bike gangs, international agents of mechanical anarchy. It turns out once a year they all meet here in the middle of California at a tiny little bar where if you pick just the right day you can select exactly the music you want for that particular day of your life, meeting those specific people arriving together at Know Where bar.
But here is the thing. Tegan said, if I am going to post a photo, there better be a monologue. So what you need to know is that many of the pivotal decisions made on California wine really do get made in a bar in the state in the middle of No Where but you are only hearing about it because Tegan asked me to ramble on just like this, way too long.
McCay Tempranillo, Lodi — serious and delicious. Crazy long finish. Good example of Tempranillo from near an oxbow in the Mokelumne River of Lodi.
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Nicely done. Sustainable Pest Control, Mealy Bugs — mealy bugs are a pest common through most parts of the world as they do well in moist, warm environments.
However, a new species especially damaging to vines has taken hold on the West Coast of the US, inadvertently brought over by a vintner who took cuttings from a vineyard in Europe and established them in their own vineyards on the West Coast of the United States. The vintner saw vine collapse in their own site and the pest spread from there. While the infestation took hold in one particular vineyard, the entire West Coast now is responsible for responding to the threat. One area that has been working to find ways to alleviate the issue while preserving efficiency and avoiding chemical sprays is Lodi.
Researchers in California have been working with growers in Lodi to demonstrate and test protocols that eradicate or lessen mealy bugs and thus the viruses without having to rely on conventional sprays. Here, looking into the canopy of a vine you can see a white tag that is one key example.
The tag carries pheromone disrupters that instead of killing any pests disrupt their mating cycle so that they do not breed. As breeding cycles for mealy bugs are relatively short, disrupting them in this way can have relatively swift effect. The tags are placed every several vines throughout the vineyard so require extensive hand labor at the start of the season, but then simply remain in place without requiring further tending the rest of the season.
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Growers in Lodi demonstrating the approach have found the tags are having a positive impact. They are successfully reducing mealy bug populations without use of pesticides. The region has created an invitation for growers throughout the state and beyond who want to visit such demonstration sites and learn more about both the threat of mealy bugs and how this research is improving sustainable approaches to saving vines without chemical sprays. Here, a quick stop along Kirschenmann Vineyard, its old vines carved in a sea of fog.
So, they just start pruning earlier to allow the many days required for a few people to prune all the vines, rather than a lot of people pruning all the vines in a short time. As long as colder weather has arrived, which it certainly has in Lodi, causing a slow down in the vine metabolism through winter, early pruning like this works just fine. Jason Eells and Larry Mettler — the Mettler family has been growing grapes and farming Lodi since their arrival in The family survived Prohibition by shipping boxes of grapes East by rail car to home winemakers to make their legally allowed gallons, growing the Flame Tokay table grapes the region was known for into the early s, and farming other crops.
By the late s, Carl and his children decided to take the next step and start their own eponymous winery while continuing to farm their own vineyards. Eventually they added vineyard management to their business as well. Jason helps oversee farming across their estate and managed vineyards, while also working with the family winery. The integration of multiple businesses united by wine — here, working as grape growers, operating a winery, and also managing vineyards for other owners — is an integral part of the most successful wine families in Lodi.
The ability to operate across different aspects of the wine industry provides greater stability through diversification during evolving changes in the industry.
About the Film
Wild Melons, Lodi — while I have spent a good amount of time in Lodi I have tended to be here between early Spring and late harvest. It turns out if you drive around the region in winter everywhere are wild winter melons covering the ground.
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The first pile of these I saw I thought it strange someone had tossed a bunch of melons roadside. No one knows where they came from originally. They simply are wild melons that have been here in winter as long as anyone alive today remembers. The region used to be known for growing watermelons celebrated for how flavorful and sweet they were. But these are clearly not watermelons.