"Stretched between the low-lying Central California towns of Sacramento and Stockton, where the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta flushes itself across a fingers-spread of rivers and creeks, Lodi is among the powerhouse wine regions of the state. It’s a longstanding growing area that has been selling grapes to and making wines for dozens of big-name wineries with big pedigrees and budgets (Beringer, Mondavi, etc.) for generations...

Uvaggio 2009 Vermentino - Uvaggio winemaker Jim Moore is making a serious case here for Lodi Vermentino, a white Italian grape not too distant in flavor from pinot grigio but more intense. This bottling is a stunner that’ll keep you thinking and asking for more. It’s compelling — savory with herb and green olive notes, and yet freshly fruity and delicate, well integrated and plenty acidic to stand up to a free-range of food, with only 11 percent alcohol."