Age is a tricky thing, even for a grapevine. There is no universally agreed upon definition of old for a vineyard. To be listed among California’s historic vineyards by the Historic Vineyard Society a vineyard must have been planted in 1960 or before, be in production currently as a wine vineyard and at least 1/3 of the vineyard must be […]
The Bechthold Vineyard is 25 acres of Cinsault planted on the west side of Lodi — in the Mokelumne River sub-appellation of the Lodi AVA. This own-rooted vineyard was planted in 1886 by Joseph Spenker. Fortunately the soil on the west side of Lodi is particularly sandy (sandy loam to be exact), and too well drained to allow phylloxera a toehold. That good fortune, along with the family’s desire to preserve this part of their farming history has allowed this gem of a vineyard to remain productive at 128 years of age.
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.