Lodi is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in the Central Valley of California, at the northern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, within portions of Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties, east of San Francisco Bay. The wine appellation was established on February 13, 1986 as the nation's 84th, the state's 48th, Sacramento County's second and San Joaquin County's initial AVA by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by the Lodi District Vintners Association proposing a viticultural area named "Lodi." [5] At the outset, the viticultural area encompassed 458,000 acres (716 sq mi) and culivated 39,000 acres (16,000 ha) of wine grapes. [1] In 2002, the area was expanded totaling 93,500 acres (146 sq mi) with 10,840 acres (4,390 ha) under vine. In the western portion by 27,500 acres (43 sq mi) with 5,240 acres (2,120 ha) of vineyards and in the southern section by 66,000 acres (103 sq mi) with 5,600 acres (2,300 ha) added to the original boundaries within San Joaquin County. [2] The appellation lies in southern Sacramento County and northern San Joaquin County. Its western border is outlined by Interstate Highway 5 and the eastern border is adjacent to El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras counties. [6]
On July 16, 2006, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury established seven new viticultural areas within the boundaries of the Lodi viticultural area. The seven new AVAs are Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Clements Hills, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Mokelumne River and Sloughhouse. TTB designates viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. [7] The plant hardiness zones are 9a and 9b. [8]
