Historic Vineyard Society sign marking Lodi's Marian's Vineyard, also recently named the 2025 Vineyard of the Year (for the entire state of California) by the California State Fair.
At the Historic Vineyard Society In the City tasting in San Francisco this past May 10, 2025, 42 wineries or brands presented a surprising variety of wines (not just Zinfandel!) sourced from some 65 vineyards certified by the non-profit organization known as the Historic Vineyard Society (a.k.a., HVS).
Since its founding in 2011, HVS has been fighting a seemingly uphill battle to preserve the state’s most historic vineyards. Sites going into wines more widely known, in the commercial wine world, as “Old Vine" wines.
Although the term Old Vine can be found on many wine labels—especially on bottlings of Zinfandel—HVS has a stringent definition of what constitutes a historic site. To qualify for HVS certification, a vineyard submitted to the registry must be
• A currently producing California wine vineyard.
• Its original planting date must go back a minimum of 50 years (as of 2025, grapevines planted before 1975).
• At least 1/3 of the vineyard’s currently existing producing vines must be traceable to the original planting date.
Vineyard owners may submit their properties to HVS for certification by demonstrating substantiable proof of their history. Over the past 14 years, 190 vineyards have been recognized as a Historic Vineyard. Over the past few years three of those vineyards have been removed from the list because they have since been removed... from the ground—the exact reason why HVS exists, which is to prevent further loss of historic vineyards.
Field sorting of Carignan in Lodi's Spenker Ranch, historic own-rooted vines planted by Joseph Spenker in 1900.
As a consumer, you are less likely to find a bottling of HVS certified wine under a label that says “Old Vine” on the front label. Instead, almost all wines of this stature bear the names of their respective vineyard sources (i.e., vineyard-designate or single-vineyard labeled wines), without the word “old” found in the wording. At this level, it is the name of the vineyard that speaks to a wine's status.
For instance, among the Lodi producers showing at the 2025 HVS tasting in San Francisco, St. Amant Winery presented two Zinfandels, a “Mohr-Fry Ranches” and a “Marian’s Vineyard.” The latter is also identified as a “Reserve Zinfandel.” Neither wine, however, is identified as “Old Vine.” What matters is the vineyard.
Over the years, aficionados of St. Amant wines have also come to expect some very specific sensory profiles out of these vineyard-designated bottlings. Both are among the most celebrated in the state (Marian’s Vineyard, in fact, was recently named the 2025 Vineyard of the Year by the California State Fair).
The plain spoken label for Sandlands Cinsault, sourced from Lodi's historic Bechthold Vineyard (planted in 1886).
Sandlands—a brand owned and operated by Lodi resident/grower Tegan Passalacqua (although his wines are produced and bottled at the Turley Wine Cellars facility in Napa Valley)—is even more ambiguous in its labeling. The brand’s Cinsaut, sourced from Bechthold Vineyard, which happens to be Lodi’s oldest vineyard (planted in 1886), simply says “Lodi Cinsault” on its front label, with no identification of its vineyard source. If you are a connoisseur of the wine, however, you already know exactly where it’s from.
Perhaps the most popular of the Sandlands wines (many believe it is Passalacqua’s finest wine) is one labeled, simply, “Lodi Red Table Wine.” It bears the names of neither any vineyard nor grape variety because it is a 1/3-each blend of Zinfandel, Carignan and Cinsaut. The Zinfandel comes from Passalacqua’s Kirschenmann Vineyard (planted in 1915), the Carignan from Lodi’s Spenker Ranch (dating back to 1900), and the Cinsaut from the 1886 Bechthold growth. Extremely old, and historic, vines indeed.
Cinsaut clusters in Lodi's Historic Vineyard Society certified Bechthold Vineyard.
Notes on Lodi grown wines at the San Francisco HVS tasting
Out of the 120 or so wines poured at the 2025 HVS tasting “In the City,” the Lodi grown wines stood out for another one of the reasons why the Historic Vineyard Society exists in the first place: Because older historical plantings are more likely to produce wines that express their origin or “sense of place,” not just the characteristics of the grapes from which they are made.
This is exactly why you want to preserve old growths: Because you want the world to continue to appreciate the unique tastes of the wines coming from these vineyards. Something worth saving!
Individual wineries or winemakers, of course, have a huge impact on sensory profiles of wines, even those made from old, historic sites. But it is also no coincidence that over 90% of the time, wines made from vineyards such as those on the HVS list tend to be crafted in minimal intervention styles—something often identified as “natural” these days, whether or not these producers even like the use of the word.
Back label of Markus Wine Co.'s "Ancient Blocks' bottling of The Church (native yeast co-fermented field blend of mostly Carignan, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet).
Fact of the matter, though, is the less that is done to a wine in a winery, the more likely it is to taste like the vineyard it comes from. Since the purpose of “saving” a historic site is to identify and celebrate it, it simply makes sense to turn it into wines that taste as much as possible like a wine that could only come from that site.
You do not, for instance, want a Marian’s Vineyard Zinfandel to taste every other Zinfandels out on the mass market. What would be the point? Therefore, you utilize minimal intervention methods to preserve the character of the vineyard in the bottle, as pristinely as possible, for the same reason why you want to preserve the vineyard’s very existence in the ground.
Own-rooted Lodi Carignan in the Historic Vineyard Society certifed Mule Plane Vineyard, originally planted (and still farmed by) the Shinn family since the late 1920s.
Across the board, I would say that the bottlings of Lodi grown wines at the HVS tasting did a fantastic job of demonstrating the unique taste of “Lodi,” and each individual vineyard, in the bottle. My notes on the wines that I tasted:
2023 Birichino, Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi Cinsault—Fragrantly scented, rounded red berry/strawberry fruit with a smidgen of earthiness; rounded, zesty light-medium body, compellingly deep yet with an ease of drinkability.
2022 Fine Disregard Wine Co., “Los Parajes” Lodi Carignan (Mule Plane Vineyard and Spenker Ranch)—Rich, fragrant, sumptuous blend of two of Lodi’s oldest Carignan growths (the 1900 Spenker Ranch with Mule Plane’s late 1920s block); silky/zesty juxtaposition, long finish of crushed red berries. Although there are other vintners sourcing wines from both these historic sites, it is interesting that Fine Disregard owner/winemaker Mike Schieffer believes the vineyards are better together in a blend, as opposed to wines bottled separately as vineyard-designates, and this bottling may be proof of that!
Fine Disregard co-owners Kara Maradan and Mike Schieffer, who blend two of Lodi's oldest blocks into their bottling of "Los Parajes" ("the places") Carignan.
2023 Maître de Chai, Stampede Vineyard, Clements Hills-Lodi Zinfandel—Signature red fruit perfume (cherry/raspberry/cranberry) of this growth, coming across with clarity and focus; zippy acidity predominant in a lean, linear yet mouthwatering, savory palate feel.
2022 Markus Wine Co., “Ancient Blocks” Nicolini Ranch, Mokelumne River-Lodi Carignan—From a West Lane growth with its oldest plants dating back to 1936, a lavishly fragrant, high toned, nostril tingling wine retaining its lively, zesty acid varietal profile; outwardly soft and silky, while the crisp edged qualities keep the sensations long and savory on the palate.
2022 Markus Wine Co., “Ancient Blocks” The Church, Mokelumne River-Lodi—One of the few historic Lodi sites allowing for an old school style of native yeast co-fermented field blending (Carignan, Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah and a smattering of Zinfandel); rich, multifaceted nose and layering on the palate, coming across as plush, vivid, lively, unique... exciting!
Zinfandel harvest in the Historic Vineyard Society certified Stampede Vineyard in Lodi's Clements Hills, a favorite source for a good number of minimal intervention style vintners, including the grower/owners themselves (Perlegos Family).
2023 Perlegos Family Wines, Stampede Vineyard, Clements Hills-Lodi Zinfandel—From the brand’s own vineyard, popular among other handcraft producers for its purity of varietal fruit driven by significant acidity; this bottling, suitably intense, rich and zesty in its medium weight body.
2023 Perlegos Family Wines, Mule Plane Vineyard, Mokelumne River-Lodi Carignan—Quintessentially “Lodi” in its red berry perfume, vibrant acidity and soft tannin; finishing round, just faintly earthy and pointedly zesty on the palate.
2022 Precedent Wine, Spenker Ranch, Mokelumne River-Lodi Carignan—Pure “Lodi” in its faintly earthy, soft yet zesty, long, edgy, savory qualities, unperturbed by the extraneous qualities (such as oak or overripeness) which bog down the vast majority of commercial wines.
Precedent owner/winemaker Nathan Kandler (left) and Sandlands' Tegan Passalacqua in Lodi's Kirschenmann Vineyard (planted 1915) on a colorful harvest morning.
2021 Precedent Wine, Kirschenmann Vineyard, Mokelumne River-Lodi Zinfandel—While this vineyard is normally vivid in spiced red berry perfumes, in May of ’25 this bottling seemed to be in hibernation, coming across as round yet tight fisted, the red berry fragrance peeking out shyly from a nose that is essentially closed. Good wines will do that, which is exactly we like them unadulterated, letting them evolve at their own pace.
2023 Sandlands, Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi Cinsaut—Svelte, bright, soft yet long and palate-ringing in its red fruit profile.
2023 Sandlands, Lodi Red Table Wine (Kirschenmann Vineyard, Bechthold Vineyard and Spenker Ranch)—If you like wines for their intensity, this wine has that in spades. If you prefer wines that retain a sense of restraint, balance and harmony, this wine is all about that as well. That’s the beauty of this three-way blend of Zinfandel, Cinsaut and Carignan. It not only fits in the fragrance and spice of all three grapes, couched in the rounded tannin structure typifying Lodi terroir (particularly the region's sandy soils permitting own-rooted viticulture), allowing for a layering of flavor content giving the wine a top, bottom and substantial middle.
Own-rooted Zinfandel in Lod's Mohr-Fry Ranches.
2023 St. Amant Winery, Mohr-Fry Ranches, Mokelumne River-Lodi Zinfandel—Both black and red toned berry fruit qualities are sheathed in mildly earthy/loamy notes, following up in slightly fleshy, rounded medium-full bodied qualities, sticking to the palate with the lingering, unvarnished notes of the earth toned berried fruit.
2023 St. Amant Winery, Marian’s Vineyard, Mokelumne River-Lodi Reserve Zinfandel—The miracle of this wine is that these 1901 own-rooted vines are located just a few feet away from the blocks going into the winery's Mohr-Fry Ranches bottling, yet the profiles are dramatically different; the Marian’s, considerably brighter and high toned, falling more into the red berry spectrum of the varietal, kept pure, fresh and ringing by an impeccably restrained craftsmanship.
Markus Wine Co. owner/grower/winemaker Markus Niggli in Nicolini Ranch on a harvest morning.