You’ll want thisGhostin your closet!
Having a ghost or two around the house can be deliciously haunting. Especially if it appears in the form of a wine bottle filled with Old Ghost old vine zin!
Since 2000, Steve Felten,
Once again, the sought after Ghost is on pace to sell out, almost as fast as the precious grapes are picked.
What’s all the mystery surrounding this elusive wine?
The history behind the ethereal name, Old Ghost, began several years ago, with a visit Steve and a friend paid to a rundown vineyard, where grass was taking over, and the grapes languished among dead and missing vines. “There was a little fog rolling in around 6:30 in the morning, and (Steve) said, ’Man, it looks like a ghost takes care of this place!’ recalls the grape grower.
As time went on, Felten began his search to package a higher-end zinfandel, and the “Old Ghost” name kept popping up in his mind, including thoughts for a “ghostly” looking label.
The rest is history. Steve says, “The label and name pays homage to the old, old vines here in
First of all, Old Ghost doesn’t represent grapes chosen from any one vineyard. Fifteen separate old vine zinyards are maintained, and every year, one of them is chosen for OG. “It’s the best lot of zinfandel we make that goes into Old Ghost,” says Felten.
So, in an annual quasi “American Grape Idol Show,” Steve and his panel of judges decide which vineyard will be chosen to produce the year’s Old Ghost.
How do they select which grapes make it to the final round? Overall uniqueness. The vineyards are low producing, and the color and flavors are concentrated into very small clusters of berries.
Steve explains, “Of the fifteen vineyards, they range in age between 57 and 100 years old, with everything in between.” However, the majority of the vines are 90+ years old - an accomplishment in grape years, which, according to Felten, produce the most intense wine.
The “runners up” in the Grape Idol competition are used in the award winning Klinker Brick label, Klinker Brick Old Vine Zin. In addition, the KB label includes Farrah Syrah.
The blender behind the bottle is renowned winemaker Barry Gnekow, who has spun his magic at the winery since the beginning. As Felten says, “He can’t help but make good wine!” No arguments here.
“The great thing about
Future plans for the winery include opening their own tasting room, hopefully next year.
Steve is a native Lodian, married to Lori, his lovely wine partner. Daughter Farrah rounds out the Felten family, and for whom Klinker Brick’s Farrah Syrah is named after.
Felten is a down-home farmer who is truly enjoying the fruits of his ongoing labor. Business is good, which translates into good for
Steve Felten, on why visit
“We make great wine here, as good as any in the state. Another reason is you’re not in the corporate world here. You’re dealing with growers who are more personable and down to earth. You’re never gonna talk to an owner in
“
“In
For more information on the Old Ghost (it has limited availability, folks!) and Klinker Brick Winery, visit their website at www.klinkerbrickwinery.com
Make plans to stop by cellardoor, downtown
“This is wine tasting kicked up a notch!” says Vanessa Foreman, 
“It’s been great to see twenty–something’s to fifty year olds conversing and blending with one another,” she says.
cellardoor is the creation of three
Additionally, cellardoor is a “hot spot” for wireless internet use. Wines are available as tastings, or by the glass or bottle. Facilities are available for private and semi-private events. cellardoor joins another successful downtown tasting room, Grand Amis.
Come on over and enjoy a glass of premium Lodi wine, and say hello to Vanessa and her friendly and knowledgeable staff. There's glass waiting for you!
cellardoor is located at
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Wanda Bechthold
of
Jessie's Grove
Winery
She runs circles 'round
those ancient
vines!
If you were to ask Wanda Bechthold, co-owner of Jessie’s Grove Winery, how she spends her days, her answer might be, “Going around in circles…” Moreover, she would consider that a fine idea, and with good reason. She adores all things round, in all shapes and sizes. In her words, “A circle represents a continuous cycle, never stopping. It is eternity.”
To Wanda, it is art in the making. In addition to her many hats she has worn throughout her life, Bechthold is a published author, historian, artist, and welder extraordinaire. After completing five years of meticulous research, she published her first book, Jessie’s Grove, in 2004. The compilation is richly detailed, and highlights the daily lives of some of Lodi’s early settlers, including her great grandfather, Joseph Spenker, and his family.
In visiting “The Ranch” at Jessie’s Grove, Bechthold’s history is omnipresent; beginning with the vineyards lining the driveway leading toward the original farmhouse; to the winery, museum, oak grove, barns, buildings and beyond. The land is named in honor of her grandmother, Jessie Spenker Beckman, the courageous matriarch of the pioneer family.
Jessie’s Grove offers an idyllic picnic spot, where visitors can wine and dine under ancient, monolithic oak trees. During the summer, blues artists take center stage under the oaks at the popular Groovin’ in the Grove concert series.
Profoundly devoted to the 340 acres encasing the grove, Bechthold created the Spenker Museum, a loving tribute to her ancestors, housed in an original 1870’s mortise and tenon constructed barn. Farm equipment, cooking utensils, and other well preserved artifacts abound, and it is well worth the time to explore this time-honored exhibition.
After devoting five years to the writing of her book, Bechthold is ready to get back to her art – the brushes, the sculpting, and maybe sifting through a scrap yard or two. “I love to weld,” she says, but she now has someone else handle that. The creativity, though, is all Wanda, and yet, I get the impression this grandmother would be quite at ease, tossing on a welder’s mask and watching the sparks fly.
“It was tricky, dicey and tough to hang!” Wanda muses, on her latest endeavor, a prominent wall sculpture crafted from wine barrel rings. Appropriately, it hangs in the new downtown tasting room, cellardoor. Wanda Bechthold has come full circle, with no plans of stopping, so long as there’s a wine glass to be raised, a scrap heap to explore, and a memory to make.
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Wanda Bechthold on why wineaux should make the drive to Lodi's wine country:
"We have authentic history here...not reproduced, as in new buildings made to look old."
"Lodi, especially, has proven historically to have the most outstanding soil and climate conditions for creating the best wines."
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