Lodi wine country during December.
Christmas shopping for discriminating wine lovers is next to impossible. They may know what they like, but what that is is anyone’s guess. Taste in fine wine, as in all matters of taste, is a highly personal choice.
Hence, the following list, which is not a “best of.” It is a list of a dozen Lodi-grown wines released in 2023 that would appeal to collectors because there is something about each that is a little out of the ordinary. And there’s nothing connoisseurs like better than things that are out of the ordinary.
Each of these wines, of course, are also very good. They would appeal to anyone who appreciates wines of exceptional quality.
Best of all, each wine is very “Lodi”—distinctive to the appellation on a sensory level, on an intellectual level, or both.
As such, these are all ideal bottlings for the connoisseurs in your life, if you happen to be shopping for them. Without further adieu…
2021 Markus Wine Company, Lodi Sparkling Bacchus ($36)
This is a tiny lot Champagne style wine made 100% from a grape called Bacchus. Absolutely no one else on the West Coast that we know of grows this grape. At least not commercially. It’s grown in Lodi’s Mokelumne Glen Vineyards because this tiny estate was, in fact, founded by a fanatical collector of grapes (the late Bob Koth). He planted over 50 varieties of wine grapes of German or Austrian origin.
The Bacchus grape
