Archive for Food and Drink

Lange Twins Winery and Vineyards

The Lange Twins Winery and Vineyards has one of the most extensive histories of any winery outside of Napa Valley, if not in the whole of California based on the families rich farming history in the Jahant AVA.

Lange Twins Winery and Vineyards is a 5th generation family owned and operated farm which was originally founded by German immigrants in the 1870′s, with the winery finally coming online in 2003. Winemaker David Akiyoshi comes with extensive experience in the business, especially from this time at Mondavi which helps this winery be known as a great choice for a wine gift no matter your price range.

The focus of this winery which now produces around seven thousand cases of wine per year is Zinfandel as well as other more consumer known choices such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. The family also manages over seven thousand acres of land being cultivated yearly, so you can expect great grapes with which to make wine. At the end of the day, Lange Twins is a winery making quality wine now and we expect bigger and better things in the future. Any time you have a winery with such extensive farming experience, they tend to end up with the best grapes and long term, the best wine.

A Wine Experience with My Dad

My favorite experience with any wine would be with my Dad. As a kid, my dad had a vineyard that I helped plant by hand. I was 11 at the time and can remember the day my Dad was getting serious about producing wine.

My Dad is still very much a wine maker in some ways, I learned many things about wine making in general by watching my dad labor in those vines. He always gave wine gifts to our relatives which was hilarious at the beginning because his wine was terrible!

In later years my dad experimented with apple wine, we had a few trees on the acreage and we often picked those together. I remember picking dandelions for my dad, and various other fruits to make wine. I am pretty sure my dad has the hand press that he used to produce his homemade wine. Again I visited many wineries in my youth and learned the ways of wine. Maybe the old man did teach me something useful after all.