Check out this recent blog posted on lodiwine.com all about our beloved Lizzy James!

Photo courtesy lodiwine.com

Since its inception in 2008, Harney Lane Winery has shot up the proverbial charts of Lodi wine lovers with hit after hit of outstanding Lodi grown wines.

A flowery fresh Albariño, a first class barrel fermented style of Chardonnay, a velvet lined leather glove-y Tempranillo, and a cigar blast of a Petite Sirah have all found favor among Harney Lane aficionados; but it is Zinfandel – Lodi’s heritage grape – that still anchors the brand.

Which makes sense because the Harney Lane heritage actually dates back to over a century of grape growing by the same family who first planted on the present day winery property just east of the town of Lodi.  A terroir that falls well within the parameters of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA, with its ideally deep, porous yet fertile Tokay sandy loam soil and a Delta cooled climate similar in temperatures and seasonal patterns to other proven wine regions such as Napa Valley and Sonoma County.

Harney Lane’s flagship wine is called Lizzy James Zinfandel; named after Lizzy and James, the elementary school age children of proprietors Jorja and Kyle Lerner.  Lizzy and James enjoy the typical lives of kids growing up on a Lodi farm – pruning canes, pulling leaves, driving tractors, loading up grape gondolas, running through the fields kicking up the summer dust with the dogs who are frantically digging for gophers or chasing down those wascally wabbits.  This was Jorja’s early life when her dad, George Mettler, was actively running the ranch, and probably not much different from the life of Henry Schnaidt, George’s grandfather and mentor, who planted the property’s first vines back in 1907.

Today, Kyle is in charge of farming the 60 acres around the winery, plus another 750 acres within the vicinity either owned by the family or leased from other longtime Lodi residents; including what is now known as Lizzy James Vineyard, a venerated 20 acre plot of gnarly, wizened Zinfandel vines, first planted on nearby Alpine Rd. in 1904.

When the Mettler family purchased Lizzy James twelve years ago, according to Lerner, “it was a restoration project… a lot of dead spots, a lot of vines that needed resuscitating, but we nursed it back to health and, since then, it’s produced our most award winning wines.”  Sitting on super sandy, beach-like soil, the Lizzy James vines give miniscule proportions of Zinfandels that are known not so much for sheer intensity or big, rotund proportions often associated with contemporary style Zinfandels, but rather for a svelte, focused, almost pure black cherry/raspberry varietal character that sticks to the palate like burs on summer pants.

“It’s a goofy little vineyard,” adds Lerner, “probably made up of as many as 10 different clones of Zinfandel, largely because of the continuous replanting in the various dead spots over the years” (typical of Lodi’s pre-Prohibition vineyards, not all the vines in Lizzy James are of the same age).Only 365 cases of the 2009 Harney Lane Lizzy James Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel ($33) were produced, and it was given the royal treatment of 100% French oak aging to highlight its flowery raspberry tea infused nose and dense yet fine, zesty, supple length of flavor, weighted evenly from front to back.

There is a segment of wine geeks and sommeliers these days who like to talk about “the question of balance” in a wine, and how many California wines are farmed (or made) incorrectly and thus are not truly expressive of their terroir.  It’s a shame most of them probably haven’t yet discovered Lizzy James, because this is as true an expression of a place (as opposed to a “varietal” profile) as it comes.  It just happens to be made from good ol’ Zinfandel; not Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, or other such things.

photo courtesy lodiwine.com

But wait, as they say, there’s more… now Lizzy James has a sister wine, also 100% from the Lizzy James Vineyard:  the nonvintaged Lizzy James Old Vine Zinfandel “Port Style Wine” ($35/500 ml.) – so-called because, legally, new American made fortified sweet reds are not allowed to be bottled as “Port.”  There is a reason why Portuguese grapes like Touriga and Tinta Cão are favored over grapes like Zinfandel for the making of fortified reds:  their skins are considerably thicker and more deeply pigmented, allowing for easier late season ripening, whereas the thinner skinned, tightly bunched Zinfandel is prone to bunch rot when fall weather turns inclement.

Yet Lerner, and his highly respected consulting winemaker Chad Joseph, have managed to produce a pure and bright sweet fortified red purely out of the Zinfandel grape.  This Lizzy James may not be quite as weighty as traditional Port, but is nevertheless as juicy rich and well balanced in its zesty, silken sweetness as any good “Port style wine.”  Think chocolate coated raspberries fed to you while reclined on satin pillows… any questions?  Just enjoy the taste of Lodi’s heritage!

Thank you Randy, for your great words. We love our Lizzy and sure are glad you do too!

 Read the original blog here

There is always something going on in Lodi Wine Country these days! We are a part of some incredible events that take place throughout the region and we host a handful of our own events here at the winery. Why not throw a wine party every now and again? February has some great stuff in store…

First up on the calendar is Lodi Wine Country’s Wine & Chocolate Weekend- February 11-12. This is an incredibly busy weekend for us – we love seeing all the new faces in the tasting room. What could be better than the combination of wine and chocolate…right around Valentine’s Day? Not much according to the nearly 5,000 people that attend each year! We try to do something a little different with the chocolate that we serve to guests… this year we will feature a Chocolate Chili that pairs beautifully with our reds. Also, we will feature Zin infused brownies that are decadent! The guys will most likely be donning pink boas- reason enough to come check it out.

A couple weekends after Wine & Chocolate, we will catch our breath and host our Wine:30 Club Pick Up Party- February 25-26- for all of our wine club members! This release features our two Zins! Our 2009 Lodi Zinfandel and the coveted 2009 Lizzy James Old Vine Zin (Gold Medals keep coming for this one!). We’re all about a good time with friends, family and wine…and that’s what we’ll have plenty of! Our loyal members will get to sample the new wines paired with some awesome bbq sliders. Yum! Juicy meat marinated and slow roasted to perfection, slathered in a zinfandel bbq sauce. Mouth watering? Pair that with Harney Lane Zinfandel… The Campbell Creek Gang will be meandering around the winery property giving folks something to tap their toes to! Our firepit will be roaring and cross our fingers the rain won’t be pouring …just before and after would be fine!

If you’re not a member, what are you waiting for? We’ve got a lot of fun activities in store for the coming year, not to mention the excellent wine! See you soon.

Most of us have our Christmas Traditions, don’t we?  In our family, many of our traditions are centered around our Christmas trees.  As long as I can remember, we have traveled as a family….sometimes a few of us and sometimes many….to cut our own Christmas tree. Since I was a small girl and my parents remodeled their home, they have been putting up an 17 to 18 foot tree every year which is not easy to find on a tree lot!  Another tradition in our family…. exchanging ornaments.  Usually its something that reminds us of the person or the year gone by.  When I got married to Kyle and moved out of the house my mother boxed up all the ornaments I had collected over the years.  I had so many, in fact, that it filled our first Christmas tree.  In response, I , of course, started buying ornaments for Kyle and now for our kids (after all…it was OUR tree) so soon one tree was not enough.  Now our home is graced every year with 2 trees.  Maybe one would be enough if I had room for an 18 foot tree.

Kyle typically thinks all this is a little bit of craziness (Although I don’t remember saying it was reasonable).  This year, however, he surprised me and came home with the ornament pictured above for me!!  He said he picked it because Santa was sitting back relaxing on the moon and that’s what he wished me……a little relaxation!  And that is the biggest thing I wish for all of you this Christmas and into 2012!!  We hope you are all able to stop and relax a little bit! Enjoy your time with family and friends!  Share a few wine:thirties!  Just pause and enjoy!!  That’s really the best tradition to have anyway, isn’t it???  Special times and great memories!!! 

We at Harney Lane wish you all a very Merry Christmas AND we wish you health, happiness and time to relax and enjoy in 2012!!!!   CHEERS!!!!             

       ~Jorja, Kyle, George, Kathy, Kirsten(Lizzy), Ian (James), Ranger & Max too!!

p.s.  The fire will most likely be roaring this winter when we’re open if you need to pause and enjoy a wine:thirty with family and friends!!

It was a beautiful fall weekend here at Harney Lane Winery for our Wine:30 Club Holiday Release Pick Up Party. The spirits of Wine:30 Club members were high and smiles were everywhere as our new wines made their debut! Our 2009 Tempranillo, 2010 Chardonnay and our first ever Port Style Wine- Lizzy James Old Vine Zinfandel Port Style Wine that is! They were all hits. Brindy, our wine club manager, created a fantastic Mac & Cheese recipe that paired with both wines. The Mac & Cheese, recipe below, combines three cheeses- cheddar, gouda and gorgonzola!  You’ve got to try it!  We also had a silk chocolate truffle that was amazing with the Port.  What could be better- cheese, chocolate and delicious wine!?

Christmas arrived in the tasting room- we decked the halls and tossed the tinsel all in preparation for our friends this past weekend. Guests tasted, shopped and listened to live music. Can’t beat that!  Others picnicked or gathered around the firepit enjoying the changing of the seasons! All in all it was a great release weekend and we look forward to sharing our newest vintage with everyone in the coming months.

Come out and try the new wines – Thursday through Monday, 12noon until 5pm. We’d love to see you.  Cheers!

 Yankee Doodle Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1 package large Elbow Macaroni
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups hot (not boiling) milk
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tsp Paprika
Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
14 oz Sharp cheddar- shredded
6 oz Gouda cheese- we recommend “Old Amsterdam” Gouda
5 oz Gorgonzola- crumbled, we recommend “Oregonzola”
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salt water until not quite tender, just shy of al dente. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt half of the butter in a heavy non-stick saucepan and sprinkle with flour. Cook for a minute or two, then stir with a wooden spoon. Remove heat and add milk all at once, along with the bay leaf. Cook over medium high heat, stirring until the sauce thickens, about 5-7 minutes. If there are any lumps, remove the bay leaf and whisk mixture with a wire whisk. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, paprika and dry mustard.

Reserve 3oz of cheddar, 3oz of gouda and 3oz of parmesan. Remove bay leaf if you haven’t already and stir in remaining cheddar, gouda and gorgonzola and set aside. In a small fry pan, heat remaining butter and combine with breadcrumbs.

In the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with 3-4 inch sides, sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the reserved cheese. Add the onion and garlic to the cheese sauce. Layer a third of the macaroni in the baking dish and top with a third of the cheese sauce. Repeat this step two more times, ending with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheeses then with parmesan and finally with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is crispy or browned in spots.

Well, Our Loyal Blog Readers…..you are in for a treat!!!!!!!!  This entry, my dad and patriarch of the family, George, shares with you about this years season.  ENJOY!!!!!……………………………………………………………

“2011 is harvest #48 for me.  I have learned a lot in 48 years.  One thing is —there is no such thing as a normal season.  2011 started out with a lot of challenging weather (cool and rainy) which meant extra sulphuring and spraying to control the mildew and fungus.  This made for a very late veraison.  We have a light crop caused in part by the very cool weather we had during bloom.  With the light crop and ideal late summer weather the grapes appear to be of high quality for wine.  We will know for sure when we drink it in 2013-2014.  Kyle has been very busy doing the work (his and mine) in the field and in the winery.

Our winery building that seemed large 3 years ago is now very full.  People keep drinking wine and we keep making more. 

The varieties in and crushed so far are Albarino, Chardonnay, Primitivo and Old Vine Zinfandel.  At this point we are waiting for Petite Sirah and Tempranillo to finish ripening so we can harvest them.  Pray for more of this dry warm (not hot) weather.

For a successful season, we depend on good management decisions, good employees, good weather and blessings from above.”

  As many of you know, dad’s been dealing with some health issues and he’s not much for sitting still!!  So, thanks, Dad,  for being a good sport and sharing your wisdom of 48 seasons with us while you had to be still for a bit!!!

Well….it’s summer vacation for the kids (aka Lizzy and James)! Don’t we all miss the days of summer break with nothing to worry about but how to stay cool! That said, I’ve been watching our kids over the last couple weeks and it’s reminded me of some of the unique things of growing up on a ranch and now a winery.
There are definately some disadvantages, I have to say. For instance, I never learned to skate board and I never got TOO attached to any animal.  Our vacations were infrequent and the pay I earned pulling leaves one summer wasn’t anything to brag about. (I think I earned $1 at 10 cents a vine) But, I also got to do things most kids don’t ever experience. I remember riding to the winery with my dad, climbing up on my tippy toes to get our weight tag for our load and then controlling the mechanism that dumped our gondola of grapes into the crusher. I also have vivid memories of searching for the biggest bunch of grapes for the grape festival and riding through the vineyard to my friends house.
Hopefully, my kids will have similar memories that stick with them….like helping with pressing (their favorite job), driving the quad or forklift, helping on the bottling line, and getting to run back and forth to their grandparents at their leisure.  How many kids get to do these things at their age?  I always tell people that Ian probably knows more than I do about what’s going on in the vineyards and this summer is no exception as he has been spending lots of time checking vineyards with Kyle.  This is our life, not just our work, and they have definitely been involved from day 1!! And, I do have to admit that they think its pretty cool that they have their names on a bottle and vineyard!!  Enjoy a few pics of them enjoying the ranch and winery life.

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The vineyards and winery are a tremendous amount of work but I hope that someday our kids will appreciate that they were able to watch and then work alongside us. Hopefully it will teach them invaluable lessons about hard work, responsiblity and the joys of your accomplishments!! Cheers!!

I love this time of year.   Thought you might all enjoy some of the images around the winery too!  So…..this time I’m short on words and letting the pictures speak for themselves.

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 I know it is nearly the end of the 1st month of the new year but I believe it is never too late to make a New Year’s Resolution.  After all, the calendar really shouldn’t be the determining guideline of everything.  So….here it is….I resolve to take time and enjoy the memories we are creating more!!!  Yes….I know….who doesn’t need to do this.  Right?  Actually follow through is the trick!! 

There have been so many reminders lately of how time flies, how life is short and how I feel like we have missed enjoying some of the greatest accomplishments and fun times because we are so busy planning the next thing.  When it’s all said in done, we will remember the moments that we let ourselves enjoy and not the lists that we’ve made for ourselves. 

Just like wine, life is meant to be savored I think.  Especially the good parts.  We have been blessed at Harney Lane with great wine, great staff,  a quickly growing wine club, great awards, great reviews and wonderful friends that grow in numbers by the day!!!  We keep saying that we are in a constant state of development because our business keeps changing and growing.  We feel like we are always playing “catch up” a bit.  I’d say that make us very blessed and it’s time to just put the seat belt on and enjoy the ride a bit.

So……Cheers to a year of good health, good fortune, great friends and to pausing to enjoy and be thankful for all of them!!!

It has been an interesting season to say the least.  It seemed Spring would never end and summer has been incredibly mild for the most part.  So what has that done for the 2010 vintage you may ask?  Well the proof is showing up in the winery already and I personally can’t wait to see what that translates into in the bottle!!

Normally in Lodi, we fight to maintain acid levels and minimize too high of sugars while waiting for maturity of the fruit and flavors.  This year our acid and pH levels were so spot on with our whites that Kyle and Chad ran the lab analysis multiple times just to be sure.  And amazingly, these white wines are developing lush aromas and flavors.  This could be one of Lodi’s best ever vintages, especially for white wines. 

All of Harney Lane’s Zinfandel has also been picked and also have developed “crazy color” and flavors to match.  Now we are just hoping that the weather holds so that the Tempranillo and Petite Sirah can have equally “over the top” years. 

So keep your fingers crossed, say your prayers, etc that the raining season waits a couple more weeks!  Trust me…it will be worth it when those 2010 vintages are released!!!

I think that one of the most intriguing things about wine is not the wine itself but people’s reaction to it.  And I think the range of wines available is just about as wide as the range of palates you find.  This has been a new experience for me as I stand on the other side of the bar or the table at a wine event and listen to people describe the wines.  I have had everthing from the simple…”that’s good” to ….a description of multiple aromas and flavors …..to a full description of how the wine would pair with a particular dish that they create on the spot as the taste the wine and pair the flavors in their head with their culinary expertise.  One of the most interesting experiences happened just recently at the REAF benefit in San Francisco.  One of the dancers from the show came to taste at the after party.  He very definately described the wine but interestingly enough didn’t really use any words.  Instead he used movement, his method of expression.  I guess it’s really not surprising that we all use our own methods to describe wine or anything else for that matter, but I still find it interesting. 

Even writers and wine experts taste their own unique things in a wine because as much as the wine is the same, everyone’s palate is unique to them.  Just revisit with me some of whats been said about our 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel just in the last month……”Oodles and Poodles of thick, sumptuous, black velvet canvassed flavors suggesting luxury chocolate with swirls of vanilla”….”fresh blackberry pie cooling next to some homemade fudge”….  “campfire in the bottle”…..”berrylicious”…….”leaves you screaming for S’mores”.    I’m not great at pinpointing and describing but I very definately know what I like and don’t.  Whatever it is you taste in it….all that really matters is if you like it and the flavors you find in it, not whether you can describe them or not.   And judging from the sales of our newest Old Vine Zinfandel, so far, most of you LIKE IT!