This vineyard is full of character! When it was new to the family, some twelve years ago, the vineyard was “a restoration project… a lot of dead spots, a lot of vines that needed resuscitating.” It became a project, according to Kyle, “we nursed it back to health and, since then, it’s produced our most award winning wines.” 

Take a peak at our beloved Lizzy James Vineyard right now….and come by the tasting room for the awarding winning 2009 Harney Lane Old Vine Zinfandel OR our Lizzy James Old Vine Zinfandel ‘Port Style Wine’ that is created with her fruit!

Enjoying a good wine and a good cheese can enhance the flavors and complexities of both, however, not all wines and cheeses go together…have no fear… we’ve done the dirty work for you and tasted through all the players, ultimately coming up with an outstanding selection of both wines and cheeses for you to try! Join us on Sunday, March 25 for a fun, informative exploration of the harmony between the right cheese and wine combos.

Cindy Della Monica of Lodi’s Cheese Central will join us at the winery to taste through six handpicked, distinct cheeses that pair beautifully with six of our Harney Lane wines. Winemakers Chad Joseph and Kyle Lerner will share their award winning wines and explore the characteristics that contrast and compliment the cheeses.

Think jammy, velvety, well-balanced 2009 Petite Sirah with a full bodied, semi-soft blue cheese marked with blue-green veins. Or the 2010 traditional Chardonnay paired with a semi-firm, silky textured cheddar-style cheese that has a light caramel flavor and a refreshing tang.

Are you drooling?

I am.

Class is limited. So, if you’re interested, let us know- email info@harneylane.com or call us at 209.365.1900 to reserve your spot.

If that isn’t enough- make a date out of it and pre-order boxed lunches to enjoy on the patio with a bottle of wine once the class has wrapped up. We’re offering a Classic Muffaletta Sandwich ($15)- Italian deli meats, provolone and olive salad on Italian loaf, served in wedges with garden salad, fruit and dessert- OR- a Ravioli Salad ($10) dressed with fresh herb vinaigrette, served with a baguette, fruit and dessert.

Who’s in?

We’ve had a few very busy weekends! The winery was buzzing during Lodi Wine Country’s 15^th annual Wine & Chocolate Weekend. A couple thousand people came through the tasting room, each receiving something to remember us by- a Harney Lane boa for their wine glass. George was back in action behind the bar after a much too long hiatus. We were all very happy to have him back! Kathy and Jorja tended to customers and Kyle helped keep things running smoothly in the parking lot think limo after bus after bus after limo!

We served up warm Chocolate Chili, made by Mike at Avenue Grille. People loved it! Tom tended to the BBQ and served up pipping hot Lakewood Brats with Chocolate BBQ Sauce. Our bakers had been busy all week making Zin infused brownies about 20 batches worth!

Two weeks later we were entertaining our fabulous Wine:30 crowd! Club members were treated to the release of our 2009 Petite Sirah, which, by the way, is receiving rave reviews. We’re hearing people say that it’s drinking perfectly now who knows what will happen a couple months down the road. With less than 200 cases produced, my prediction is that it won’t be around for too long end of summer, maybe?

At the Pick Up Party, members enjoyed our awesome lineup of wines with Pulled Pork Sliders smothered in homemade Zinfandel BBQ Sauce. As usual, the family was in action. Including, Ian James who served up bbq on Saturday and helped park cars on Sunday. He’s been bragging about the $8 in tips he made ever since! Ranger kept folks entertained…err…patiently waited for them to drop crumbs…

The weather was beautiful all weekend. Guests filled the patio and enjoyed tapping their toes to the bluegrassy sounds of the Campbell Creek Gang. This quarter’s pick up included our 2009 Lodi Zinfandel and our 2009 Lizzy James Old Vine Zinfandel.

In addition to these fun weekend parties, the Wine:30 Club receives quarterly shipments of two or four bottles as well as 20% off all wine and merchandise in the tasting room (some exclusions apply). It’s a pretty sweet deal, so sign up already!

For more… “like” Harney Lane Winery on Facebook and follow @harneylanewine on Twitter!

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

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!!

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!!