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Lodi, California is located in the San Joaquin Valley, the wine equivalent of America’s breadbasket, and is surrounded by vineyards and tasting rooms.

Known as the Central Valley, Lodi sits at the north end of a flat, fertile, produce-rich, 400-mile valley that runs through the center of the state. As a result of Lodi’s reputation for mass market and jug wine, its proximity to the San Andreas Fault, and the CCR slight, you might question the wine production and grape cred of the valley. As for John Fogerty’s “… just give me a song and a beer,” being “stuck” in Lodi in 2016 ought to be a dream come true for wine lovers.

It’s time for Lodi to let go of its old-fashioned image and embrace its newfound status as a top wine region. What would you consider to be Exhibit A? Last year, Wine Enthusiast named Lodi its 2015 Wine Region of the Year, giving the AVA (American Viticultural Area) some much-needed credibility. To distinguish itself from the more industrialized, high-volume wine production facilities in the south, the appellation has worked hard to quietly and strategically distinguish its identity. There is now a wide range of varietal wines being produced in Lodi, putting the region on par with its northern neighbors when it comes to wine tourism and elevating the region to a position of prominence among growers and vintners.

I’m in Lodi Wine Country to sharpen my writing skills and toast the region’s winemaking prowess. If you want to improve your wine writing and passion for wine, this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference (#wbc16) is the place to be. Oenologists and academics from the nearby UC Davis, the United States’ most renowned wine university, will contribute to the blog’s content. Many of the Lodi sub-AVAs, which were approved in 2006, have 4th and 5th-generation winemakers and producers among their ranks.

A strong case has been made for European Vitis Vinifera cultivation in Lodi’s sub-appellations of Mokelumne River, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Borden Ranch, and Alta Mesa, Sloughhouse, and Clement Hills. It has only been in the last decade that vintners have expanded their range of grapes beyond the well-known, gnarly – and in some cases pre-Prohibition Zinfandel vines. There are many varieties of wine that thrive in the Mediterranean climate, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Chardonnay to Merlot.

To this day, Lodi winemakers proudly display the Lodi logo on their labels and hold themselves up in the international wine community. I can’t wait to try the wines of the Lodi Valley, which has a rich history of debauchery dating back to the Gold Rush, a bounty of fresh produce, and a climate and soil mix that includes sand, clay, and alluvial soils from the nearby Sierras. Let’s go for it!

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