from the Azores in 1954 and Vierra grew up drinking wine at
the family table. Family-style is how he likes it at his winery
and tasting room, where you’ll likely find him pulling corks
behind the bar or cooking up a giant paella in the courtyard
of his elegant Mediterranean villa.
On the eastern edge of the Lodi appellation, in the foothills
of the Sierra Madre, Markus and Liz Bokisch specialize in
growing Spanish grapes. Markus is American but his family
hails from Catalonia and his Basque blood runs deep. He and
Liz spent time in Spain, learning from Spanish winemakers
and sourcing the vines for their winery. They produce
tempranillo, albarino and graciano wines, which can be
enjoyed from the comfort of an Adirondack chair in their
outdoor tasting room with a view over the vineyards and a
massive stand of oaks.
In low-key Lodi, Oak Farm Vineyards stands out. This high-
end property is one–of-a-kind, centered on a majestic
Colonial Revival mansion dating from 1876, and an even older
barn. Owners Dan and Heather Panella live in the house, while
the barn serves as a wedding venue and event space. In 2014
the couple opened a gorgeous Napa-style tasting room
overlooking their 60-acre vineyard where they showcase
Dan’s wines — three white varieties and eight reds, including
a flagship barbera that speaks of Dan’s Italian roots. His family
have been a fixture in the Lodi agricultural scene since 1936,
when they established a trucking company that shipped Lodi
crops to market.
Good wine calls for good food and thanks to hoteliers Russ
and Kathryn Munsen, Lodi has some of the best. They
managed to lure Bradley Ogden, two-times James Beard
Award winner and Michelin star chef, to, their lovely country
estate hotel Wine & Roses, where he presides over the Towne
House Restaurant and Towne Corner Café. Ogden was a
pioneer of the New American cuisine, putting emphasis on
local, seasonal ingredients and farm-to-table cooking, long
before locavorism became hip. He came to Lodi to consult for
the Munsens, but surrounded by wonderful ingredients and
people who put community before commerce, he fell in love
with the place and decided to stay. Herbs, vegetables, fruit
and flowers grown in the verdant grounds of Wine & Roses
make their way onto Ogden’s menu, along with produce from
the Central Valley, California’s premier agricultural region.
Matched with Lodi wines, a meal at Towne House Restaurant
is a genuine treat.
David Lucas was one of the first winemakers to see the
potential of Lodi and lobbied for its designation as an
American Viticultural Area (AVA), which was granted in 1986.
Back then, the region was known for jug wine and Lucas went
door-to-door with samples of the estate-bottled wine he and
Heather were making. Wine merchants loved the wine but
didn’t want Lodi Appellation on the label. Like John Fogerty
they gave Lodi a bad rap. In 2015, Wine Enthusiast Magazine
named Lodi “Wine Region of the Year.” Seems the pot of gold
Fogerty was lookin’ for was there after all.30 TAST E&^ TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL^ APRIL–JUNE 2019
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AQUENCH LINGERING IN LODI