2024 has found much of the wine world in turmoil, and that has certainly affected California and most definitely Lodi. Many vineyards that did not get harvested in 2023 have either been left unattended, or have been ripped out to make way for a different crop. While we hope that this is just a temporary downturn, it is also an opportunity for the industry to reinvent itself by exploring different varietals and wine styles to attract new customers. Lodi is certainly at the forefront of this effort with multiple plantings and producers of lesser known varietals, such as Picpoul, Fiano, Kerner and Dornfelder, to name just a few. And, of course, the Lodi Chapter has been doing all it can to support the industry by holding multiple events and consuming as much wine as possible! And on that note……

February is always our kick-off month for events, starting with the official “Chapter Annual Meeting” at the home of Master Commander Emeritus Ken Levy and Knight Sandy Levy.  This event always attracts a good sized crowd, but the attraction is not the meeting with its usual administrivia of confirming Board/Cadre members and listening to the not exactly spellbinding report from the Commander. No, the attraction of course is the wine and food – as has become our tradition this event was a casual “bring an appetizer and a bottle of wine to share” AKA “cellar reduction” event. There was all manner of food options and copious amounts of wine, all of it very tasty. And it was a wonderful Lodi “winter” evening, with members lounging outside enjoying the mild temperature.

March was our Grand Assemblage at Parkview Terrace, with the Cadre and Assemblage crew converting the space into a first rate dining/party room. Assemblage co-chairs Mike Johnston and Carole Appling did an outstanding job selecting the menu and creating the pairings for each course:

• 2020 Wilson Family Winery Pinot Noir and 2023 Heaven’s Gate Pinot Noir Blanc with assorted appetizers  
• 2022 Oak Farm Fiano with a fabulous salad of butter lettuce, arugula, pear, blue cheese, pomegranate and pecans.
• 2022 LVVR Sparkling Albarino with a sorbet intermezzo
• 2022 Wilson Family Winery Sauvignon Blanc with sea scallops and a mushroom asparagus risotto
• 2021 Van Vliet Jacob’s Blend with braised short ribs, polenta and carrots
• 2021 Oak Farm Vapor Trail Zinfandel with flourless chocolate cake

And, of course, we inducted 6 proud new members into our fine order with a ceremony mixing pomp and circumstance with the usual rituals and enlightening/hilarious bios for each candidate.

April was the National Annual meeting hosted by the Chancellery Chapter in Sacramento. For those that are not acquainted with California geography, Sacramento is about a 40 minute drive from Lodi, which from a California perspective is basically “right next door”. Our normal monthly meeting date coincided with the beginning of the Annual Meeting weekend, so instead of holding a competing event we encouraged our members to partake of the Annual Meeting festivities. Several members did just that, in particular by attending the Thursday event at Baker Family Wines in West Sacramento. They enjoyed meeting other Knights from across the country, and learning what other chapters are doing. Wine does truly bring us together, and these meetings are truly a unique wine opportunity.  Now is the time to plan to attend the 2025 National Annual Meeting hosted by the North Carolina Chapter – if you can, make the effort to attend. You won’t regret it!

May was our first Lodi KOV Wine Club event of the year, at Wilson Family Winery. As the name indicates, this is a small family winery offering small-lot, hand-crafted artisanal wines, created by the husband-and-wife winemaking team of JR and Krystal Wilson. JR is a native Lodian whose family has been cultivating wine grapes in the Lodi AVA for three generations. He met Krystal while they were both attending graduate chiropractic school. After school they moved to Lodi to establish their practice and began making wine in their spare time. As often happens in Lodi, this “hobby” led to better and better wine, and ultimately the family decided to “turn pro” and open a winery. And we are so glad they did! The family was super hospitable and JR did a great job of guiding our group through a detailed tasting of their wines, including, as expected, some stellar zinfandels. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

And finally, June saw the return of our annual Backyard BBQ, hosted by Bob and Janet Smith. The weather was perfect for this outdoor poolside event on the Smith property. Once again, the grill masters of the Lodi Chapter outdid themselves with perfectly prepared beef “bavette” with shrimp and other delicious accompaniments. The evening ended with the wine raffle wherein attendees, who were required to bring a bottle of wine to contribute to the raffle, then buy raffle tickets in the hopes of winning a 6-pack of some of the donated wines. This is always good for a laugh, and the usual competitive trash talking and questioning of the legitimacy of the “draw”. All ended amicably, and the lucky winners returned home with their booty. For those that did not win – well, there’s always next year.

Now get out there and drink some wine – the growers and winemakers of Lodi are depending on you. Cheers!