Markus Wine Co.
Markus Wine Co. is the classic story of a winemaker venturing out to start his own business. Swiss-born Markus Niggli was working as the winemaker for Lodi’s first boutique winery, Borra Vineyards, when he founded his namesake winery in 2014.
Markus is a champion of Lodi quality. “People moved away from Lodi to invest in Napa, then planted-out Lodi to Cabernet and Chardonnay for the mass market because everything grows very easily here,” says Markus. “I am taking time to look between the mass vineyards for the hidden gold. I am more of a prospector than a winemaker. There are many wisely planted ancient vines and newly planted unusual offerings that still need to be discovered and farmed better for great wine. I want people to force themselves to look closer at what we are doing here in Lodi.”
Like many winemakers, Markus believes wine is made in the vineyard, in the choices about when to prune the vines, whether to pull the leaves, or whether to amend the soil. “My winemaking goal is to elevate the place,” says Markus. “Nothing more. My wines are fruit-driven, but not too heavy or sweet. They are balanced with higher acidity than you find in many wines, and with soft, integrated tannins. I craft them to be enjoyed with meals.”
“When I drive by a thriving vineyard growing a well-suited grape variety, my first thought is, ‘What would that vineyard taste like?’” says Markus. He then makes a mental map of each well-managed and memorable vineyard block, which Artist Adriana Flores captures perfectly for his wine labels.
His “Single Source” bottlings, like our featured Syrah, are one grape variety from one unique vineyard. “The Berghold Vineyard, where our Syrah grew, is a short walk from our winery in Victor, and not far from the Mokelumne River,” notes Markus. “The proximity to the river lends a wonderful cooling influence from the icy-cold snowmelt off the Sierras to the east. The 2018 vintage was very warm, but cooler than more recent vintages.”
For our featured Vermentino, the majority of the fruit came from a Borra Vineyards estate vineyard. “We have been working with these Vermentino vines at Gill Creek Ranch since 2012,” says Markus. “This ‘sunken block’ is in a natural bowl, recessed down right against the cooling Mokelumne River in the ‘toes’ of the Sierra Foothills. The block is so close to the river that it often floods, making it very resistant to drought. The 2020 vintage was much warmer than average and presented us with quite a bit of smoke from the fires that ravaged Napa. Fortunately, the smoke did not affect any of our Lodi vines. With this bottling, rather than letting the fermentation go native, I experimented with cutting-edge yeasts X5 and VLS3. The X5 helped develop the intriguing grapefruit note.”
The fabulous wines we featured:
2018 Single Source Lodi Syrah
- Only 350 cases produced!
- Pair With: Excellent with a wide range of savory foods, especially any vegetable or steak with good, seared grill marks
- Enjoy now or hold up to 3 years.
Tasting Notes: Markus found the balance between oak, richness, and freshness in this full-bodied expression of pure Lodi Syrah. Rather than overpowering, the oak adds a pleasing nuance, melding with some meaty savoriness, rose petal, bittersweet chocolate, baked black cherry and berry pie, and some nice blackberry tartness on the long finish.
2020 Select Source Lodi Vermentino
- Pair With: Get Markus’s recipe for Spargel (Asparagus) Cannelloni on our website.
- Enjoy now or hold up to 1 year.
Tasting Notes: This wine was blended to create a balance that best expresses the freshness of the fruit. It is a savory, dry, medium-bodied, clean, crisp, and very refreshing white, with lemon-orange, apricot and nice New Zealand-like herbal cut grass notes.
Winemaker's Notes
2018 Single Source Lodi Syrah: All fruit for this wine was harvested by hand from the Berghold Vineyards in Lodi. The wine was whole cluster sorted before a four-day cold soak. The wine aged for 24 months in American oak, 40% new.
2020 Select Sources Lodi Vermentino: Borra Vineyards Gill Creek Ranch in Lodi provided the Vermentino. Coyote Creek Vineyard supplied the Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit was harvested by hand at dawn on October 2 and 3. The fruit was whole-cluster pressed and the wine fermented at a cold 52° F for 28 days with no malolactic fermentation. It aged for two months in 100% stainless-steel.
Lodi
Markus Niggli
Markus Niggli