Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/16170
Mother Low-Down Stuart Spencer of St. Amant Winery is also the Program Manager at the Lodi Winegrape Commission. Barbera Booster: St. Amant Stuart Spencer’s small-production winery, St. Amant— his mother’s maiden name—paints a romantic picture of Lodi. Growing up in a farming family and a long-time resident of Lodi, his access to incredible vineyards, relationships with top growers and the ability to sell his wines at affordable prices put St. Amant in a perfect position to represent the boutique side of Lodi. Spencer’s specialty is Barbera, a grape suited for a warmer region. This variety’s high acidity is maintained in Lodi’s climate, giving a freshness to the wine. The St. Amant 2008 Barbera “Tools of the Trade” (SRP $18) imparts a rich cocoa nose, a thrill of ripe jammy blueberry and blackberry and a nose composed of soil and sun. —M. M. St. Amant produces old-vine Zinfandel from some of Lodi’s oldest dry-farmed rootstock, sourced from one of Lodi’s top growers, Mohr-Fry Ranch. The St. Amant 2008 Marian’s Vineyard (SRP $24) is named after Stuart Spencer’s mother and the Frys’ mother; Spencer calls it—and rightly so, on a couple of counts— ”the mother of all Zins.” The own-rooted vines were planted at the turn of the last century. The concentration in this single-vineyard wine is invaded, but balanced by, a tremendous chewiness and ripe tannins that meld with a semi-sweet chocolate finish. 15.9% alc. Oh, momma! –M. M. No Lipstick: m2 Wines Lane Montgomery is the exception to the grower- turned-winemaker rule in Lodi, but nevertheless, the Midwest transplant has brought a sense of modern winemaking to old-vine Zinfandel with m2 Wines. The single-vineyard m2 2008 Zinfandel Soucie Vineyard (SRP $28) brings out eucalyptus and mint, brine and dark mystery ber- ries all in a fleshy base. Perhaps it’s his use of American oak that makes his signature unique? “I think the combination of old-vine Zinfandel and French oak is like John Wayne wearing lipstick.” We get his point. —M. M. with m2 Wines. Lane Montgomery modernizes old-vine Zin Grower Prestige Mohr-Fry Ranches Roots Go Back to the 1850s The word “fertile” and the Central Valley go hand-in-hand. Farming set Lodi’s growth from the beginning, and now the wine industry is leading the way for businesses, restaurants, tourism and public relations. But it starts with the growers, whether they have transitioned to winemaker or not. Sixth-generation grower Bruce Fry and his father Jerry operate Mohr-Fry Ranches, which sells grapes to more than 20 wineries—and that includes some outside the Lodi district. Growing a dozen varietals, they specialize in old-vine Zinfandel, which has enough pres- tige to put the Ranches’ name on labels, from Marian’s Vineyard, planted in 1901and still on its original root system, to other own-rooted gnarly vines. In the tradition of creating a name for themselves by promoting the prestigious land that bore fruit for their brands, wineries such as Joel Gott, St. Amant, Eola Hills (OR) and Chouinard, among others, use the Mohr-Fry name to set a standard and show off heritage. —M .M. Sixth-generation grower Bruce Fry examines a 109-year-old Zinfandel vine in Marian’s Vineyard at Mohr- Fry Ranch in Lodi. september 2010 / the tasting panel / 47 PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY