Klinker Brick
Winery
Lodi
(California)
The Estate
Steve and Lori
Felten, fifth generation grape growers in the Lodi
region, continue the tradition of cultivating “Old
Vine” Zinfandel vineyards that their ancestors
planted in the early 1900’s.
With roots in Germany, Russia and later the Dakotas,
the family settled in Lodi, first producing
watermelons. Recognizing that the soil and climate
were ideal for growing grapes, they began to plant
varieties that included Zinfandel, Tokay, Carignane,
and Alicante. For over one hundred years, the family
has cultivated the land with the aim of producing top
quality fruit. Zinfandel was one of the first grape
varieties to be planted in the Lodi appellation,
although it had also been established in other parts
of the California.
In 1996, the family began to produce Zinfandel for the
bulk wine market, selling wine to a number of
prestigious, benchmark producers of Zinfandel in Napa
and Sonoma Counties.
In 2000, Steve and Lori made the decision to start
their own winery with the mission to produce
exceptional Zinfandel. They continue to make wine from
all of the vineyard blocks, culling only the very best
lots for bottling Klinker Brick and designated
vineyard wines. They produced their first Syrah in
2001. They have one goal…to produce world-class
wine.
Klinker Bricks are highly prized bricks that grace
many of the historical buildings in Lodi, including
the owner's home. Chosen by Craftsmen architects in
the 1920’s for their distinctive qualities,
including unique shapes and dark, rich color, these
bricks are “heavier” than regular bricks
“Klinker” refers to the sound that they would make
when banged together, because of their increased
weight. Rich, deep color, enormous density, unique and
distinctive are the same qualities found in their old
vine Zinfandel.
The Vineyard
The Felten Family own and manage fifteen
individual vineyard blocks of “Old Vine”
Zinfandel that range in age from 35 to 110 years old.
Each vineyard is planted in sandy loam soils along the
Lodi Mokelumne River Region and up into the Clements
Foothills.
These vineyards are generally head-trained and dry
farmed, yielding an average of 2.0 to 3.5 ton
per acre. Some of the oldest vineyards have yields as
small as .25 ton per acre. While there are significant
limitations in the quantity of grapes produced, the
quality of fruit is exceptional.
The grapes come from several different
vineyards within the Lodi Appellation, depending upon
the highest quality of fruit produced each year, and
has included several vineyards in the Mokelumne and in
the Clements Hills region.
From time to time, they produce single vineyard
designated wines that express unique character, in
addition to exceptional quality. These wines are
produced in very small quantities and are extremely
limited.
The
Wines
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