California Wine Gems:
The Toast of Lodi at Joseph Narcizo Wines
You can take the boy out of
Central California, but you can't take Central
California out of the boy. At least that's
the case with Chad Joseph, winemaker and
co-founder of Joseph Narcizo Wines of Lodi.
After a college stint in rain-drenched,
forested, fog-bound Humboldt County in coastal
Northern California, Chad returned to the
flat, sparsely treed, dry plains of the
Central Valley where he grew up.
As
a fourth generation Californian whose family
had tilled the Golden State's soils, Chad
wanted a career related to agriculture where
he could use his background in botany and
chemistry to good advantage, and winemaking
seemed like the ticket. Gallo provided the
ride. For five years Chad ran the numbers,
fermented the wines and made the blends
as winemaker at Gallo's Sonoma and Central
Valley facilities. That came to an end at
a fateful 4th of July picnic when friend
and Lodi winegrower Patrick Costa suggested
they team up together and form a winery
of their own. "The name was one of
those barbecue with beer ideas," laughs
Chad. "Joseph is my last name; Narcizo
is Patrick's old family name. There is no
Joseph Narcizo. Well, there was - he was
Patrick's grandfather - but that wasn't
the origin of the name."
Patrick and his wife, Terry,
have 200+ acres of vineyards in the Lodi
area which Patrick has tended for a decade.
Chad and his wife, Stacia, have a burning
desire to make wines that will show the
world that Lodi isn't the stepchild of the
wine industry but instead a valued family
member. Thus, Joseph Narcizo Wines was born.
At only 1,500 cases per year,
it's small and manageable. "We're not
a boutique, we're a micro winery,"
Chad laughs. "Our tasting room is literally
the inside of a fermenting tank in the Vino
Piazza, the former old Lockeford Winery
facility in Lockeford just 9 miles east
of Lodi. This was a co-op winery in the
'40s, and today it houses 17 wineries."
Joseph Narcizo is a red wine
house, producing Zinfandel, Concerto (a
red blend) and Merlot, plus Reserve red
wines Cabernet Franc, Alicante Bouschet
and Merlot. Its slogan is "Custom Reds
from California's Lodi Appellation."
According to Chad, "the red wines do
much better here, with our warm days and
nights cooled by the San Joaquin River Delta
breeze. Whites need a colder climate than
ours."
(Like Humboldt, maybe?) Chad
and Patrick leave the whites to the chilly
coast, for they would rather be the toast
of Lodi. If determination and desire have
anything to say about it, they will find
the success they're seeking.
This wine country story
has been provided by The California Wine
Club. Check out what Bruce & Pam Boring
have selected from Joseph Narcizo for their
CWC members:
($13). Spicy
sage tea and dried black currant in the
nose, with subtle flavors of violets and
raspberries in the aftertaste. Medium-bodied
with a round palate and just enough tannin
for the perfect finish. Enjoy now or hold
up to five years. (650 cases produced)
WINEMAKER'S NOTES: "We
started out to make a Meritage blend - a
wine having the traditional Bordeaux varieties
- but then we just decided to make what
tasted best," says winemaker Chad Joseph.
"It was fun not to have any varietal
constraints. We weren't making a Cabernet
Sauvignon, so we didn't have to worry about
keeping 75% Cab in the blend." As it
turned out, the blend is 37% Cabernet Sauvignon,
51% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot and 3% Malbec.
All of the fruit comes from
Patrick's vineyards except for one lot from
a Lodi vineyard owned by the Delu family.
After hand harvest, grapes were destemmed
and gently crushed. Fermentation with Bordeaux
Red yeast lasted 10 days during which time
the cap was hand punched and pumped over
three times a day. The wine was then racked
to various seasoned and new and 2- to 3-year-old
American, French and Hungarian oak barrels.
Most of the blending occurred
during the first four months. "Everybody
was involved with the blend and that includes
Stacia, Terry, Patrick, myself and Louis,
Patrick's dad, who is close to 80-years-old
and always working. It was a blending party.
People took samples home and tasted them
with food as well." This wine had another
six months in the bottle prior to release.
Joseph Narcizo Wines
Lockeford,
California
2001
Chad
Joseph and Patrick Costa (Narcizo)
Chad Joseph
1,000-1,500
www.josephnarcizo.com
|
