Great News....Mencia in Calif

Very interesting article by TedReiger:
LodiMencia
on Ron Silva’s Mencia project at his SilvaSpoons vnyd in Lodi.
MattRorick gets grapes from SilvaSpoons and I hope he’ll be able to try his hand at Mencia. It would, undoubtedly, be a world-class Mencia.
The planting of these kinds of varieties in Lodi is very exciting and a no-brainer for Lodi. Things are looking up in Lodi. I need to get back there for a visit again.
Tom

Certainly a grape I really like, but it also seems capable of handling a range of climates, so well worth them trying.

Rick Longoria has a planting of Mencia at a small demonstration vineyard right outside his winery in Lompoc. I don’t know whether he has been able to interest any local growers in planting or grafting any yet. Rick has done a very nice job with both Albariño and Tempranillo from Santa Ynez Valley so it would be interesting to see what he can do with Mencia.

I’d like to see someone plant Mencia on a slope in El Dorado (Sumu Kaw Vineyard) or something like that.

I wonder if Ron Mansfield’s vineyards have a steep, schist-covered slopes mimicking the best in Bierzo?

Anyone else think this was about the comedian opening a winery? Kind of threw me at first since there’s probably only half-a-dozen comedians in the country rich enough to consider blowing a fortune on that sort of hobby.

I’d be interested in what it comes out like. In Spain it’s grown in the cooler, wetter north, quite different from Lodi it would seem to me. And it usually doesn’t have the fruitiness of many other grapes - it’s unique in Spain in that regard. Should be a whole different thing in Lodi. Frankly, there’s not a lot that’s outstanding even in Spain, so it’s an open book, unlike things like Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir, which are always compared to their European antecedents. Interesting project.

This is why I’d be much more excited to see how it might do in the cooler parts of Santa Barbara County, if Rick Longoria finds a grower to plant it there.

Analemma has planted Mencia in the Gorge.

Between exotic varietals and historic vines, things are looking up in Lodi!