Markus Bokisch and his wife, Liz, have a passion for Spanish varietals, which they grow on about 100 acres and use to make about 2,000 cases annually of wine bearing the Bokisch Vineyards label. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

New discoveries: Lodi growers add variety to wine list

Zinfandel will always be the mainstay of the Lodi Appellation, but wine varietals previously unknown to the area are beginning to take root as boutique wineries strive to find their niche.

Vintners, like Markus Bokisch, are beginning to include lesser known grapes from Germany, Italy and Spain among more traditionally grown crops.

Bokisch uses more than 1,200 acres of well-known grapes to fund his passion for Spanish varietals. He grows about 100 acres of Spanish varietals for his personal wine label, Bokisch Vineyards.

The Bokisches are one of the largest Spanish varietal growers in the United States, but that's poised to change, Bokisch said.

"Spanish wines are just now catching on here," he said, "But there's already a lot of grower interest. We've had several requests for bud wood from other growers and nurseries."

Bokisch said part of the growing interest has come from the younger generation of wine drinkers who have no preconceptions about wine and are willing to experiment.

Another demographic interested in trying wines less common to California are the experienced wine drinkers, said Mark Chandler, executive director of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission.

Chandler said as consumer tastes become more sophisticated they begin to appreciate more varieties. He said the "wow factor" of discovering a new wine has also helped make lesser known varieties popular at the Wine and Visitor Center.

In California, the most widely grown grape is chardonnay, followed by cabernet sauvignon, according to Jim Wolpert, an extension viticulturist for University of California, Davis.

But Wolpert said California is known for introducing new varietals and making them successful.

Zinfandel is a good example of that type of success, he said.

"Historically, Zinfandel wasn't a well-known wine, and now it's an important variety," Wolpert said. "Lodi growers were interested in bringing out the quality of the grape and they proved it wasn't just ordinary."

Sirah has had a similar history, he said.

Get to know some different wines

Some unfamiliar wines are appearing in Lodi tasting rooms. Below is a guide to help decide which ones you may want to try on your next trip to the wine and visitor center.

German reds: dornfelder and lemberger

German white: kerner

Spanish reds: tempranillo, garnacha and graciano (gra-tsi-ano)

Spanish/Portuguese whites: albarino and verdejo/verdello

Rhone reds: syrah, grenache, mourvedre (moo-vedra), counoise (coon-woz), carignane (care-in-yawn)

Rhone whites: viognier, roussanne, marsanne, grenache blanc

Source: News-Sentinel staff.

And he expects albarino will be one of the next to succeed.

Like the Italian pinot grigio, which has recently become more popular, albarino has a crisp flavor consumers are looking for in a white wine, he said.

The most likely wineries to experiment outside the "chardo-cab" realm are wineries making less than 20,000 cases per year, Wolpert said.

He said the idea for wineries to differentiate themselves. It also gives them an opportunity to tell their story through their wines, Wolpert added.

Smaller wineries also have the ability to educate consumers about the wines, teaching them the correct pronunciation and offer suggestions on food pairings.

Pronunciation is one of the biggest hurdles for wineries creating unfamiliar wines, said Jonathan Wetmore, owner of Grands Amis Winery.

Wetmore is one of the only Lodi producers of carignane, a Rhone variety.

"When someone sees a variety they haven't heard of they may be curious about it," he said, "But they're usually scared to ask someone for advice on what to choose because they don't know how to say the name."

The list of tongue-twisters includes, alicante bouchet (boo-shay), mourvedre and verdejo (ver-day-ho). Wolpert said all are good wines, but have difficulty selling in supermarkets and wine shops because of their lengthy, difficult names.

Wolpert said Portuguese varieties will likely be the next experiment for growers in California because of the quality of wine they produce.

And Lodi is already doing that too, with St. Amant wines specializing in Portuguese varieties for about 20 years.

"It's an exciting time for these varietals," Wolpert said, "And you're right in the middle of it."

Contact reporter Rebecca Adler at rebeccaa@lodinews.com.

First published: Saturday, January 13, 2007

This story was updated at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 15, 2007, to correct the spelling of Jonathan Wetmore's last name.