A blog for Lodi wine lovers

Cycles Gladiator, the wine named after the label — true story — opened this year in what used to be the Cosentino winery, which used to be the Jewel winery. Both wineries went belly-up.

Despite that bad mojo, Cycles has moved from the Central Coast (where its part of the growing Hahn wine empire) to the Lodi area, where it’s closer to most of the fruit it bottles.

Some local wine types feel that having a grocery store label open a tasting room (and other operations) in Lodi isn’t good for the appellation, especially as its image continues rising in the wine trade. I understand, but you wouldn’t expect a high-end winery in that type of industrial setting.

(Apologies to M2 Winery, which focuses on wine and not curb appeal.)

Even with a prix fixe menu, Cycles wines are a step up from the $9.99 wine sold by Jewel a few years back. All CG wines are $12 at the tasting room, and choices vary from pinot noir to syrah. The tasting room also offers Hahn’s Huntington line of wines, typically in the $14-$18 range. These wines are made from grapes grown elsewhere.

Cycles Gladiator doesn’t make overly complex wines, but they do a fine job at their price point. They deliver consistency, which is often all you can ask for lower priced wines. Their cabernet sauvignon and merlot stood up well in a difficult category (and the pinot noir is an easy quaff), but if you’re in the $12 market for zins or petit sirah, you can do better.

Because Cycles Gladiator is a large brand, you should be able to find it for less than $10 in major retailers. In that case, if you’re looking for something to round out your personal House Red inventory, the cabernet deserves serious consideration.

I reviewed the 2008 Van Ruiten zinfandel way back in April 2010, and it’s still available on Safeway’s shelves during the grocery store’s big sale. It is still drinking well, and I recommend it as a zinfandel that is impossible to beat for the price (sub-$12).

This was some really crappy old wine that aged poorly in the garage. Not exactly a shocker.

Today I opened seven bottles of a 1998 Lodi zinfandel, with not one drop getting past my lips. I do hope the toxic sludge I sent down the drain does not boost my sewer bill.

The wine, which shall go nameless because it wouldn’t be fair to the winery, was terrible when I bought it at what was essentially a fire sale clearance price about 10 years ago. This zinfandel wasn’t bad in its prime, but that was a short-lived era. I believe I paid $48 for the case in about 2001 or 2002.

I suspected it was a mistake with the first bottle I opened back about that time. It was already past its prime. The second bottle confirmed by suspicion. Yet it sat in the garage, originally with the assumption that I would use it for cooking.

Then it was a matter of failing to simply ditch the crap. I do not recommend storing wine in a garage, especially one that faces west and is used to park hot cars.

I ditched the crap today, however, during a brief cleaning binge. The ’98 zinfandel was the first thing I saw, and I thought it might be interesting to taste before chucking it all.

The cork in the first bottle disintigrated. Total mush. Not unexpected, since these bottles had been sitting right-side-up for the past decade. The liquid was a murky mess that stung the hangnail on my thumb. This would not make its way into my mouth, much less my glass.

Other bottles had brittle corks, but I managed to open them anyway. They were consistent in appearance (see above) and odor. You can’t describe this crap with the term “nose.” I swear after sniffing it I won’t have to trim my nose hairs for a while.

All of it went down the drain. The lesson of buying crappy, heavily discounted wine was learned long ago. Today I learned that it’s better to simply part ways with crappy wine sooner than later. It doesn’t get better.

My only regret was I didn’t hold onto a bottle to see if it would clear the shower drain when it starts backing up, but at least I have more room in my garage.

I’ve often touted Apple Market for some great buys. Nothing, however, approaches the deal Safeway is currently offering. All wine is 30 percent off. Buy six bottles and it’s another 10 percent for a total of 40 percent off.

Today I went by and picked up four bottles of Klinker Brick’s 2009 zinfandel (the ’07 and ’08 were great), and two bottles of Van Ruiten’s 2008 zinfandel. With 40 percent off, the price for the Klinker Brick was $12.59, well below the previous low I’ve seen of $14.99 (perhaps $13.99). Van Ruiten was in the sub-$12 range.

Both are truly great buys. The sale lasts until Nov. 8. I’d be stunned if Safeway has either of these labels left by that date. These wines are available in the Lodi store at Kettleman Lane and Lower Sacramento Road, and may be available in Stockton.

By the way, Apple Market (I couldn’t resist) is advertising St. Amant zinfandel for under $13 (sold out at Safeway for a similar price after 40-percent discount).

Peltier Station 2008 zinfandel: Is it the 8th Deadly Zin?

Peltier Station, a relatively new winery based in Acampo, is associated more with value wines. No, not cheap wines, but value wines.

Peltier Station’s owners also make the Hybrid line of, well, cheap wines that also offer an extremely good value for those whose wine budget comes from what they can scrounge from beneath couch cushions and the change slot in vending machines. The Hybrid petit sirah, for example, hits the sweet spot in the $8 range.

But they also do a pretty good job in the higher-end line that carries the name of Peltier Station, which must refer to a long-forgotten stop on the Central California Traction lines that run adjacent to the property at Kennefick and Peltier roads northeast of Lodi.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the Peltier Station petit sirah, I do remember it’s a petit that stands up well by itself. I recently tried the 2008 zinfandel, which I picked up for $12.99 at … hmmm, can’t exactly remember at this point (and, no, it’s not the wine … yet).

For one, I’m surprised that this is 100 percent zinfandel. It’s deeper and darker than most Lodi zinfandels, big on blackberry and licorice that reminds me of Michael-David’s 7 Deadly Zins. In fact, if you like the style of 7 Deadly Zins but want a bigger, darker, concentrated version, you’ll be very happy with Peltier Station’s zin.

List price is $18, which is a bit steep. Just as you can find 7 Deadly Zins for as low as $9.99 at Costco, you can get Peltier Station steeply discounted at a few Lodi grocers, which is where you should start in your search for this wine.

However, if you’re a 7 Deadly Zins addict and will pay any price for a similar wine, then pay what you must for this Acampo version. You won’t be disappointed.

This round it’s 2009 Gnarly Head zinfandel vs. 2008 Staplehead zinfandel, both found in the local Safeway for $10.

Gnarly Head is a mega-winery zinfandel and likely found in most grocery store chains around the country. It’s commodity zinfandel with a Lodi old vine label.

Staplehead might be hard to find, even though it was in the Lodi Safeway. It’s hard to find much information about this wine, other than it’s made by a dude in Lockeford. Because it was a brand I hadn’t heard of before and the fact a lot of people buy wine in bulk and slap a label on it, I initially thought it was wine purchased in bulk and then bottled to see if there was any money to be made in it. But it was better than that.

The winner: Staplehead by a unanimous decision.

It had been a while since I’d had Gnarly Head, and I remembered why it had been a while after my first taste. This is medicinal tasting plonk (no offense to those of you who enjoy zinfandel-flavored Robitussin).

Staplehead, on the other hand, is serviceable zinfandel that doesn’t give Lodi a bad name. It doesn’t exactly advance the brand, but it’s a by-the-book zinfandel, and you get credit for that. So what if it doesn’t venture into new territory. You put the glass to your lips, tilt it up and you know you’re drinking zinfandel. This is not a wine that needs a lot of analyzing, so I’ll do it for you: It’s 10 bucks and you’ll finish the bottle.

Sitting here with the ’09 tempranillo from M2 Winery, one of my favorite Lodi producers. Although this wine probably hasn’t peaked, it’s another great example of a growing trend: fantastic tempranillos made from Lodi fruit.

It took Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Vineyards to first show what Lodi could do with this grape. Others have caught on in a big way, with Harney Lane and M2 also making great tempranillo. In fact, the Lodi Winegrape Commission is putting together a progressive dinner on Wednesday in downtown Lodi as part of wine industry tempranillo celebration.  More information is available here if you have $80.

Featured wineries are Alta Mesa, Bokisch, Harney Lane, Jeremy, Fiaza, Ripken and St. Amant.

Don’t know if there’s a tempranillo I’ve been disappointed in yet. Of course, I haven’t tried all of what Lodi is producing, and that number is growing year by year. But I also wonder if tempranillo isn’t just another promising grape varietal that just can’t get out of zinfandel’s shadow.

It happened with petit sirah, but petit’s shortcomings became more obvious the more Lodi wineries tried to push it to its limits. Even well-made petit sirah doesn’t have the depth of great Lodi zinfandel. A few years back, syrah was the next up-and-comer, but again winemakers seemed discouraged by how far they could take Lodi syrah.

But is tempranillo different? What Harney Lane, Bokisch and M2 are producing show promise that this Spanish grape could produce the next great wines of the Lodi region. Unlike petit sirah and syrah, tempranillo is well-balanced with tannins, acid and dark fruit that deliver on the front, mid, and back end of the palate without the heat you get from many Lodi zins.

With more and more Lodi wineries producing tempranillo, the test won’t be completed for several more years. Does Lodi have a “style” of tempranillo, like zinfandel, that is pleasing to so many consumers’ palates? Will there be a mass-marketed $8-$10 tempranillo that the occasional red wine drinker can try that will lead him or her to better temps?

“Only time will tell” is an old cliche, but as long as the Lodi producers can keep delivering great quality tempranillos for a limited and appreciative audience, I’ll be happy.

A story in The Record of Stockton, CA today is about Mettler Family Vineyards purchasing the tasting room and vineyards of winery Vino Con Brio, which hasn’t been on the scene much in the past year because of a retirement.

Good move for Mettler, which already has some family members in the business, such as Harney Lane and Vicarmont wineries on the outskirts of Lodi. I wasn’t a big fan of Vino Con Brio’s wines, which had some varietals that just didn’t work for my palate.

Mettler wines are excellent, from the cabernet sauvignon (my favorite) to the zinfandel and petit sirah. The cabernet may be Lodi’s best, and a silky finish is a characteristic of all the Mettler wines. Sometimes Lodi winemakers have a hard time balancing big fruit with the high alcohol that often comes with it, but Mettler has done a great job taming the heat. You can often find Mettler wines on sale in the Lodi area for $17.99, and they’re worth it.

Buying the Vino Con Brio site on Harney Lane will give Mettler the tasting room it’s overdue for. The Record story says it’s due to open this fall. With Mettler, Harney Lane and Vicarmont all within a stone’s throw of each other, it’s Mettler territory for sure, and a must-go-to part of the Lodi appellation for wine tourists.

This picture of a bottle of St. Amant old vine zinfandel might be a little blurry, but that's the way it looked after a glass before dinner.

You may not know that Saint Amant was a 13th century French monk who make big-ass red wine that had a siren’s lure. Visitors to the monastery were so hammered by his big, brawny red wines that they couldn’t stand up straight enough to leave.

OK, so maybe I made up all that stuff about Saint Amant, but it’s not a leap of faith after trying St. Amant’s 2009 old vine zinfandel.

This wine sells for as much as $19.99 at Safeway, sale price $17.99, but I picked up a bottle at Lodi’s Apple Market for $12.99. It’s a great buy at that price and I will get more.

St. Amant’s Lodi zin is a hefty red, weighing in at 15.7 percent alcohol. At least that’s what it says. This wine is made in classic Lodi style — big blackberry fruit, heat on the finish and with a yellow prescription vial sticker on the side that reads “Caution: Do Not Attempt to Operate Heavy Machinery After Consuming.”

Hell, I had trouble handling the remote control one glass into this bottle on an empty stomach.

I do like this wine. It comes from Mohr-Fry Ranch zinfandel planted in 1944. Also, it’s grown according to the Lodi Rules, a program that certifies the grapes were grown in a sustainable fashion. I like that, too.

Although it’s from the 2009 vintage, it’s at its peak and ready to drink. As it’s on the rustic side, enjoy with food with big flavors, such as pizza, spaghetti, ribs, burgers and other fatty grilled meats.

A buddy of mine said he’d tried the zinfandel and St. Amant barbera and liked only one of the two. He couldn’t remember which. The barbera has had its ups and downs over the years, but I will try that one, as well as the tempranillo that’s available at Apple at a bargain price.

If in the Bay Area on Oct. 8 and want to sample the best of what Lodi has to offer, you might spare the drive to the Valley and attend the TI fest. Here’s a link to their site: http://tiwinefest.com/ Tix are $55 in advance and $65 at the door.  It’s pretty steep in a recession, but the good news is if you get sloppy drunk, you can sleep it off on a mass transit bus instead of pulling into a Highway 12 park-and-ride in Lodi.

If you’re driving, be cool. Tickets for designated drivers are $25. No designated driver should ever have to buy a ticket. Isn’t that what friends are for?

There are a couple wineries that will be pouring this year for the first time, and the stalwarts will be there as well.

Or, instead of going, you could buy five bottles of St. Amant zinfandel at Apple Market! (No, I don’t work there)