Skeptics abound. But when proof is offered that eliminates all the baggage of past reputation and confirms preconceived notions can be faulty, well, that makes mincemeat of "conventional wisdom."

This came to mind the other day after I was a judge at the Grand Harvest Awards blind wine competition in Santa Rosa, Calif., and faced a series of flights of wines that all hailed from a single mystery region.

The wines were all quite good, and that includes some Chardonnays, Cabernets and Merlots. We all wondered what region could do this well with a range of wines, with some of the judges guessing Sonoma County, Monterey County and Lake County. There was also a vote for Napa Valley.

When we were finally told that the area from which all these attractive wines had come was Lodi, once a little-known part of California's disrespected Central Valley, most of us were surprised. One judge who wasn't shocked was Mark Chandler, who happens to be the executive director of the commission that is the image arm of this fast-growing wine region near Sacramento.

But even Chandler didn't guess that the region these wines came from was his own.

Long disparaged as just another hot growing area, Lodi has spent the last 17 years trying to prove that it differs greatly from the high-tonnage vineyards of San Joaquin Valley to the south, of which it was once a part. Today, Lodi is seen as a district with a distinct identity all its own and a passion to prove that its wines are significantly better than those of the past.

It was 1991 when local grape growers set up a marketing group (the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission) and appointed Chandler as its executive director, charged with helping Lodi shed its old jug-wine image. At the time, the area had just a tiny handful of wineries and perhaps 30,000 acres of grapes. Today, there are 70 wineries and several more in the planning stages, about 100,000 acres of grapes (nearly as much as Napa and Sonoma combined), more than 700 grape growers and an expanding reputation for making attractive wines from a wide variety of grapes.

Wine lovers always assume the only way to make top-rate wines is to harvest grapes only from low-yielding grapes.

And it once was thought that all Central Valley vineyards gave 8 to 10 tons of fruit per acre of vines. Which is unlikely to make great wine.

But in 2007, Lodi's average tonnage, including all grape varieties, was roughly 5.5 tons per acre, proof that quality is primary in the minds of many growers here — and of the growers, some are giant corporations for whom high tonnage is essential to profits.

"By matching (grape) varieties to soil-type and using tiny amounts of water, literally spoon-feeding these vines, we have become both a quality region as well as an area that is most conscious about natural resources," said Chandler. "Deficit irrigation has been the byword around here for a decade or so."

The greatest amount of Lodi wine expansion came between 1996 and 2001, when major plantings took place, acreage doubled and quality soared. Then problems hit: an oversupply of fruit after the 2005 harvest. Chandler said, however, that the oversupply meant most growers didn't need as much fruit in 2006, and there followed a huge push for better quality from smaller tonnage.

Chandler has done a superb job in establishing quality guidelines as well as pushing for an emphasis on more organic methods of farming. As a result, more wineries today use the name "Lodi" on their wines than ever before. Gone are the days when the name was seen as a detriment.

Indeed, the blind tasting proved that Lodi can compete with the best regions in the state, and this includes wines from grapes previously thought to be unlikely in a warmer region, such as Chardonnay and Viognier.

Wine of the Week: 2005 Mettler Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi ($24) — A delightful red wine that delivers a load of classic Cabernet aroma of dried herbs, cherry and complexity. The supple tannins and good structure make for a wine that works nicely with beef dishes. As good as many far more expensive reds.

Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County, Calif. Berger publishes a weekly newsletter on wine and can be reached at danberger@VintageExperiences.com. To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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