upbringing (and a liberal sampling of the barrel), they named the
wine Seven Deadly Zins, and it became the best-selling zinfandel
in the USA. The Phillips’ roadside fruit stand is still there (the
heirloom tomatoes are outstanding) but it now includes a tasting
room, a bakery market and a café, surrounded by landscaped
gardens, bocce ball courts, pumpkin patch and a u-pick flower
garden.
Two women winemakers are turning heads in Lodi. Self-
described corporate wife-turned winemaker, Sue Tipton of
Acquiesce Winery decided to make wine after being told her
favourite tipple — a Châteauneuf-du-Pape by Château de
Beaucastel, — was no longer available. She grows zinfandel
grapes for another winery and concentrates her own winemakingefforts only on whites based on hand-picked, estate-grown Rhône
varietals. “People said I’d never succeed if I only made white
wines,” says Tipton, “But look where we are now. We’ll be sold out
of wine by November and will open again in March. It’s been like
that every year since we opened in 2012.” Tasting at Acquiesce
includes small bites of food designed to pair with the wines —
goat cheese with Meyer lemon and a thyme and violet flower
confit paired with a 2017 grenache blanc enhances its lively
minerality; a tapa of Manchego cheese, tomato and rosemary
paired with a 2017 roussanne helps to tease out almond and
honey notes.
Heather Pyle-Lucas is the winemaker who helped Sue Tipton
achieve her goal. The soft-spoken vintner spent 17 years as RobertPHOTOS THIS
SPREAD CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP LEFT
Michael McCay;
McCay Cellars
tasting room;
In the garden
at Michael
David Winery;
Steve Felten;
Sue Tipton;
David Lucas;
Boutique
shopping in
downtown
Lodi; One of
Sue Tipton’s
award-winning
wines.28 TAST E&^ TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL^ APRIL–JUNE 2019
U
S
AQUENCH LINGERING IN LODI