What's In a Name

In the world of wine, does the "name", or appellation on the bottle really make a difference? Can a four letter word on the front label (Lodi) really cause the wine inside to become better or worse? As we enter the world of wine, we have run into prejudice, pre-judgments, and comments like "I can't drink that, it's from Lodi." And to be honest, they have only strengthened my appreciation for "our" appellation. Not only are we proud of our wines, we think that they are great enough to compete with the likes of any other major California wine, oh wait just a min, some of the largest, most well know labels in the business, have their roots in Lodi, and are produced with Lodi grapes.
One only has to look back into the history of the Lodi wine industry to see just what an important role Lodi has played in the California Wine Industry. Let's see have you ever heard of Mondavi, Gallo, or Delicato. That's right, some of the largest wineries in the world are based in the San Juaquin Valley, and as many issues of Wine Spectator will confirm, produced high scoring wines. Now, I must say that we here at Twisted Roots do not put too much value in how many points a wine scores, we believe that great wine to each person is different, "Taste is in the mouth of the beholder".
Not only does Lodi produce top quality wines with the Lodi appellation on the label, but it also goes into a lot of those high priced wines from places like Napa, and Sonoma. Lodi, and surrounding areas, produce 20% of all the wine in California annually, and might I add, that is more than Napa and Sonoma combined. Lodi as been known in the industry for many years as the work horse of the industry, and those expensive wines you buy from "Napa" might only contain 85% Napa Valley grapes, and 15% Lodi grapes. This little known fact, not only makes me happy, but proud to have that four letter word on our label. Now Napa, Sonoma, and Monterey County (just to name a few) all have different climate and conditions, that make unique and great wines, and true be told we love wines from each of these areas, but we also love our Lodi wines.
So next time you taste a great wine, enjoy that wine for what it is, and not what it says on the label. Remember that someone, somewhere, has put their heart and soul into what you are enjoying, and their mission is to create something that represents them, and pleases you. Cheers.