Teeny-tiny Stonum Vineyards, located on Alpine Rd. on what locals call the “east side” of Lodi, is growing up.
But lest you think this means they’ve joined the ranks of big or even medium-sized producers, think again. The winery’s production has recently topped off at about 1,000 cases a year⏤minuscule even by the standards of other small Lodi wineries. According to owner/grower/winemaker Kathy Stonum, that’s as far as they go.
“We want to remain hands-on,” says Ms. Stonum. “We’d like to keep all the work in the family, not have to hire people from outside.”
The 1,000-case level, however, is a significant increase from just five years ago, when production was barely 200 cases. The estate vineyard⏤15 acres planted entirely to open-canopy trellised Zinfandel⏤can produce much more, but most of the grapes are sold to other wineries.
The grapevines first went into the ground in 1989, but the first bottling of an actual Stonum Vineyards brand Zinfandel wasn’t produced until 2009. The winery’s tasting room⏤an unusual (for the appellation), stained natural timber framed, American Gothic-like barn⏤was completed barely five years ago. This is not a family in a great deal of hurry to get things done.
Stonum, however, is far from short on creative juices. Although they’ve been producing both reds and dry rosés from their estate grown Zinfandel, they’ve also been playing with other varietals not grown by them.
According to Ms. Stonum, “The red Zinfandel is bottled under the Stonum label, as is our Chardonnay and Cabernet
