I have several friends that live in California and knowing my penchant for wine, they are always telling me I should come visit. When I casually mention to them that I’d like to go and visit the Lodi Appellation, their eyes kind of cloud over and drift away, 
their voice becomes very suspicious and I can tell that their dreams of visiting Napa or Sonoma with friends has just been dashed.
That’s because even living in California, they aren’t aware that the Lodi Appellation has some of the most exceptional wines being made in the state. The climate in the Lodi region very much resembles the Mediterranean, something that was not lost of the early growers of this area. Cooling breezes from the San Francisco Bay area in the afternoon and evening temper what can be a warm dry summer. A cool and usually moderate winter helps to not stress the plants during the off season.
It was discovered early on that the Zinfandel grapes thrives in this environment. It was one of the first grapes planted commercially in the state of California, having been first planted in the Lodi region in the mid 1800’s by Agoston Haraszthy (considered the grandfather of California viticulture). For this reason, vintners in this region have access to some of the oldest grape vines in America with some being well over 80 years old. This combination of climate and old vines often produces grapes with very ripe and forward fruit flavors and markedly soft tannins.
The concept of the flying winemaker was born after commercial travel via airplane became practical. It allowed for ideas and techniques to be rapidly shared amongst wineries in disparate regions, helping promulgate these ideas and techniques amongst an ever increasing number of wineries. From Wikipedia:
“Many of the early flying winemakers were Australians who had been educated in modern techniques, and used the fact that their autumn was six months ahead of the Northern Hemisphere to 'moonlight' when things were quiet at home. They have had some dramatic success in improving the quality of Old World wines, particularly in the South of France and in the former Communist countries.”
All of this leads to the wine in today’s review. Cameron Hughes has several labels that he sells wine under. His operation is based on buying quality juice and making good value wines. He does not own vineyards, but works with vineyards that he has found meet his standards. Principally based in California, he has started a label called The Flying Winemaker and had released four wines under this banner, each from a different part of the world. There is a cabernet sauvignon from Maipo Valley, Chile, a chardonnay from Margaret River Australia, a tempranillo from Campo de Borja, Spain, and a zinfandel from Lodi, California.
The 2007 Zinfandel is made from juice that comes from ancient vines in the Lodi region. It is exactly what one would expect of a Lodi Zin. It is a translucent garnet in color fading to dark orange at the edge. It is a big wine, coming in at 14.5% alcohol and this alcohol is apparent in the nose. Once you get through this bite of alcohol, you get aromas of blackberry quickly followed by tar and tobacco. On the palate, the blackberry is very pronounced and is followed by tar and a very long and lingering spicy finish.
The soft tannins of this wine make it very ready to drink now. This is a wine that goes down easily, especially for those that aren’t normally red wine drinkers. And coming in at around $12 a bottle, this is a wine that can easily be served in quantity for a party.
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