Fields Family Wine — Marching to the Sound of Their Own Drummer

Ryan Sherman loves to talk wine, but he loves making wine even more. He grew up in Lodi which means an exposure to vineyards and winemaking was inescapable. He grew up with kids whose parents were farmers and winemakers, though his parents were not. Ryan’s family was in real estate and he pursued a career in commercial real estate himself. He eventually circled around to winemaking, establishing Fields Family Wines with partner Russ Fields in 2008.

On a recent Friday afternoon we, along with fellow wine enthusiast and blogger Peter Nowack, visited with Ryan at the Fields Family winery and tasted through Ryan’s wine. We learned about Ryan’s style of winemaking, what inspires him and what’s in store at Fields Family Wine.

Ryan describes himself as a self-taught winemaker. He has read the writings of old-time producers in Cornas and Côte-Rôtie. He has learned from the writings of Paul Draper and Randall Grahm. His research has lead him to understand the importance of getting to know vineyard sites and learning what is possible in Lodi.

He has informed his palate by drinking wine from Crozes-Hermitage, the Barossa Valley and Côte-Rôtie. Ryan describes himself as more of an adventuresome wine drinker than his business partner Russ who prefers Cabernet and Pinot Noir. But they tasted Tempranillo from Rioja and Ribera del Duero, wines from Oregon as well as through out California wine. Through tasting and paying attention to what happens in the cellar Ryan now makes the style of wine they both enjoy. This evolution started as a home winemaker and continues in the cellar at Fields Family Wine.

Ryan’s first commercial vintage was 2008. That first vintage they released their Big Red Blend, Oak Knoll Merlot and Oak Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon. Syrah did not make the cut as a varietal wine. In 2009 Ryan released Zinfandel, Syrah, Oak Knoll Merlot and Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, in addition to the Big Red Blend. He feels he began to hit his stride with the 2009 vintage, learning what each vineyard site had to give.

He began experiments with wood aging and fermentation yeasts in 2009 and 2010. Ryan fermented as many as 13 micro lots using various yeast strains. He is always learning, always reading, always stretching as a winemaker.

Gradually production has increased as demand has increased. The current 1650 case production is at the upper limit of what winery space and time will allow. Russ has a busy law practice in Sacramento and Ryan has maintained his real estate business in addition to winemaking and family. Neither expects to quit their “day job” any time soon, so for now, Fields Family Wine is making about as much wine as is possible.

The 2009 vintage has brought recognition for the Fields Family Estate Syrah. It was recently named Best In Show Red at the San Diego International Wine Competition which has increased demand for Fields Family wines. With steady sales at the winery, and the new tasting room in downtown Lodi, regional placement in a few restaurants and wine shops Fields Family Wine is just where Ryan would like to be.

Ryan’s winemaking style is generally low intervention. Fruit is harvested by hand early in the morning and comes to the winery for destemming. Mostly whole berries cold soak for 3-5 days. Ryan uses native yeast fermentation whenever possible, only rescuing a fermentation if it doesn’t move forward. Similarly with malolactic fermentation, he does not inoculate. Over time he has learned that fermentations proceed at different rates depending on the variety and the barrel. Some barrels of Syrah or Zinfandel may complete malolactic fermentation in as quickly as 15 days. Each barrel has its own unique chemistry.

Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is always his problem child though. It can come into the winery with high Brix, high acid and high pH. It’s always the most challenging wine he makes. The 2013 vintage poked along not finishing malolactic fermentation until March. Experience has taught him to just monitor the wine and wait. Those barrels that don’t finish by November or December will stand still for a month or so then suddenly take off. Ryan doesn’t know if it’s the lunar cycle or what, but this has consistently been his experience.

As we talked wine, inspiration and fermentation, we sipped through a series of Fields Family wine.

2011 Fields Family Wines Estate Syrah — lots of dark fruit aromas and flavors. Nice tannins. Its big and full of texture, but not over done. Delicious and will get more interesting with time in the bottle. $22

2011 Fields Family Wines Il Ladro — Lodi Sangiovese, harvested early for the red fruit flavors and bright acidity Ryan prefers in Sangiovese. Just a touch of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot round out the flavor and body a bit. It’s Ryan’s take on a Super Tuscan wine. $25

2012 Fields Family Wines Century Block Zinfandel — dark fruit, a bit of smoke, lots of texture. Juicy acidity. Dark and delicious. This bottling is essentially the same as Ryan’s Lodi Native Century Block Zinfandel with the exception that it is aged in about 25% new oak. The Lodi Native bottling sees no new oak. This wine is a darker version of the Lodi Native wine to my palate.

2009 Fields Family Wines Oak Knoll Merlot — dark fruit with great depth of flavor and significant, grippy tannins. This is a Merlot with personality. It is not a generic red wine. $28

2010 Fields Family Wines Oak Knoll Merlot — lots of bright fruit flavors, great depth of flavor, juicy acidity and once again beautiful, grippy tannins. Just delicious. This wine is not yet released (look for it in the fall) and Ryan is very pleased with the flavors and tannins in this wine. It’s a bit younger tasting, but delicious.

2009 Fields Family Wines Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon — a combination of bright and dark fruit, earth and spice. Grippy tannins and juicy acidity in a medium body round out the package. Just a small amount of Malbec adds additional complexity to the flavor profile. $59

Making Napa Valley may not be the norm in Lodi, but it’s what Ryan enjoys the challenge Mt. Veeder fruit brings. In general Ryan’s Napa Valley wine is aged two years in barrel and two years in bottle prior to release. He likes to give the wine time to pull itself together.

Last year Ryan purchased only one new barrel, a 500L Ermitage barrel. One more barrel will be added in 2014. Ryan prefers the flavor profiles French oak adds to Syrah and prefers mostly multiple-use oak barrels for aging with just a fraction aged in new French oak.

2014 will bring two additional Syrahs to the Fields Family line-up. Ryan will be making Shiraz from a small vineyard planted in Lodi in the 1970s from cuttings brought from the Barossa Valley. Because the vineyard is so tiny, the bottling will be called Postage Stamp Shiraz. In addition, Ryan will make a Côte-Rôtie inspired Syrah. These two bottlings of Syrah will join the Estate Syrah.

The Estate Syrah vineyard, planted about 25 years ago, surrounds the winery on Woodbridge Road. Ryan believes it was the first Certified Organic vineyard in Lodi until this year, when a persistent problem with voles required leaving the Organic program. Fields Family use a portion of the grapes from the Syrah and the balance is sold to others. Tempranillo will be grafted onto a portion of the Syrah vineyard so Fields Family will eventually have Estate Tempranillo as well.

If you enjoy wine that expresses the variety and site with minimal wood influence, you will enjoy Fields Family Wines. The selection we tasted was flavorful and complex with great acidity and nice tannin structure. We love significant tannins in red wine and we liked what we tasted.

Fields Family Wines is a great example of the diversity of wine being made in the Lodi AVA. Lodi is of course the self-proclaimed Zinfandel Capital of the World, but there is a lot going on in the Lodi wine world besides Zinfandel. Ryan has not ignored Zinfandel, he makes several and is a participant in the Lodi Native Project. He just has lots of other interests as well. And that’s great news for wine lovers!

You can taste Fields Family wine at the winery or the tasting room in downtown Lodi. We have tasted at both locations and they offer different ambiance. Going to the winery and talking with the winemaker is as good as it gets.

Winery and Tasting Room
3803 E. Woodbridge Rd
Acampo, CA Lodi, CA
Thurs – Mon 11am- 5pm
209 896-6012
Google Maps

Downtown Lodi Tasting Room
20 N. School St
Weds & Sun 1 – 6 pm
Thurs – Sat 1 – 8 pm
209 368-3435
Google Maps

Thanks to Ryan for taking time to talk and taste wine with us. It was a very enjoyable afternoon for us.

Cheers!