Arts
- Simply the best of Lodi
- Star watch: Enjoy a movie in style
- Lo (ho, ho, ha, ha) di
- Rhythm of the night
- A season for a festival
- Keeping it cool: Jazz scene popular in Lodi
Food
- Much more than secret sauce
- Edible, incredible Lodi offers food treats for finicky feasters
- List of area restaurants
Recreation
- Take off!
- Par for the course
- Mokelumne River more than Lodi's northern border
- Fun in them there hills
- Nearby nature: Spend a day exploring Lodi Lake
- Outstanding ornithology: Birds just love Lodi
Shopping
- L.O.D.I. spells hidden treasure in antiques
- Dollars and sense: There are plenty of places to shop in Lodi and the surrounding area
- Chocolate lovers rejoice!
- Find the perfect ‘Lodi' gift
Things To Do
- Perfect day includes walking, eating, playing
- Time alone or with family can be perfect
- Lodi's past comes alive
- Museum reveals Lodi's ag roots
- Move over Wonka
- In all directions, fun is a stone's throw from Lodi
- Discover: The big list
Wine
A tale of two wines: Pinotage making Lodi wine scene
Move over, zinfandel. Lodi may soon become synonymous with pinotage, if Vino Con Brio's owners Mike and Renae Matson have their way.
The couple have been growing this unique varietal in Lodi for the last eight years and have been bottling since 2000. A cross between pinot noir and cinsault, pinotage has been a regular staple in South Africa for decades.
Currently, the Matsons are the only international members of the Pinotage Association based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. At seven acres, they also maintain the largest acreage of pinotage grapes, outside of South Africa. They even have a license plate that reads "PINOTGE."
Mike Matson has been particularly drawn to the exotic qualities of pinotage.
"I feel like I'm going on a safari," he said, whimsically. "And it's a spicemeister. It's great paired with spicy and barbecued food."
Pinotage is currently on the wine list at Wine and Roses, Rosewood and 224 West. It is also sold at Lakewood Liquors and the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center, where visitors can also taste this unique wine.
Name: Pinotage
Origins: Created in 1925 by Professor Abraham Izak Perold at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. It is a cross between pinot noir and cinsault (also known as hermitage).
Number of producers in California: 10
Characteristics: Easy to grow, high yield, deep color, high sugar levels easily achieved, thick skins give greater resistance, generally harvested after chardonnay and pinot noir.
Age-ability: This is an early maturing red wine.
Flavors: Smoke, raspberry, cranberry
Currently grown: South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S.