July 17th - This Date in Wine History

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Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

  • Phylloxera was discovered for the first time in Meursault in 1878.
  • The Carso DOC was created in 1985.
  • "Wine in the Afternoon" a song written by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand was released in 2006.
  • California's Lodi sub-appellations of Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Clements Hills, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Mokelumne River and Sloughhouse were designated in 2006.
  • California's Saddle Rock-Malibu AVA was designated in 2006.
  • Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills AVA was designated in 2006.

July 17th - This Date in Wine History

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Phylloxera

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

  • Phylloxera was discovered for the first time in Meursault in 1878.
  • The Carso DOC was created in 1985.
  • "Wine in the Afternoon" a song written by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand was released in 2006.
  • California's Lodi sub-appellations of Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Clements Hills, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Mokelumne River, and Sloughhouse were designated in 2006.
  • California's Saddle Rock-Malibu AVA was designated in 2006.
  • Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills AVA was designated in 2006.

Lodi - Wine Region of the Day

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Lodi

Lodi received its designation as an AVA in 1986. Situated on 551,000 acres, Lodi contains sub-appellations Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Clements Hills, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Mokelumne River, and Sloughhouse. Lodi has a Mediterranean climate with warm days and cool nights. While the soil varies within the regions of Lodi, it mostly consists of a deep loam that is occasionally covered with large rocks and river stones. Best known for producing Zinfandel, Lodi's Old Vine Zinfandels have received world acclaim. Lodi also produces Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc.

Consumes River - Wine Region of the Day

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Unlike most of the Lodi area American Viticuttural Areas which mainly grow red wine grapes, the Cosumnes River appellation produces a significant amount of white wine.  Located between Sacramento and Lodi, California the Cosumnes River appellation is located in the low river plains among wetlands, levees, sloughs and creeks.

The name of the area as well as the river comes from the native Miwok peoples words for the type of people who settled in the area.  Cosumnes refers to the residents being the “Salmon People”.  Salmon still run in the river up to Rancho Murieta as the river draining west of the Sierras that has no major dam.  Because of this, the area is subject to occassional flooding or may even dry up at times.  The topography of the region slopes downward from the highest points in the eastern portion of the appellation to the southwest corner.  The river runs downstream through the AVA until in converges with the Mokelumne River and then into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta leading to the Pacific.

 This topography allows cool moist air to travel up the river delta cooling the river valley and creating maritime and inland fog in the region which cools the environment but is dissapated by the moderate winds blowing down from the Sierra Nevadas.  The soils are young and alluvial near the many water sources with older San Joaquin series deep, red, gravelly loamy clays covering fanning over the region.

Like many of the new Lodi  AVAs there is only one winery in the Cosumnes River Viticultural Area.  The property has been a working ranch for five generations and began planting grapes on the property in 1993. Cold weather vines do well here, and the region is known for its Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.