Lodi, Legacy, and Zinfandel

Every Thursday evening during the quarter at UC Davis, undergrads, graduate students, faculty, and researchers come together with wine glasses in hand for VITIS, the wine tasting club run through the Davis Enology and Viticulture Organization (DEVO). Here, they taste wines while learning directly from the people making them. It's one of the unique privileges of attending a school whose Viticulture and Enology Department is recognized as having one of the world's premier winemaking programs. 

On November 7, 2025, VITIS hosted Tegan Passalacqua for an event that was part tasting, part masterclass, part geography lesson, and entirely captivating. As Director of Winemaking at Turley Wine Cellars, one of the country's most prestigious Zinfandel producers, and owner of his own cult-favorite label, Sandlands, Tegan makes wines from over 50 vineyards across California, from Mendocino to Paso Robles. His wines are single-vineyard expressions that tell stories about California's viticultural heritage through century-old vines and obsessive attention to terroir. 

Learning the Language of Place

From the first pour, Tegan’s passion was infectious. Most people think of Lodi, if they think of it at all, as a budget wine region. Tegan flipped that narrative entirely. Nestled in the heart of California’s Central Valley, Lodi is a surprisingly complex wine region, with its magic rooted in geography, water, and soil.

He explained that the Mokelumne River, whose name comes from the Plains Miwok for “people of the fishnet,” winds through the region, flowing into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta before reaching the Golden Gate. This river system is central to Lodi’s character, depositing coarse, sandy soils that shape every vineyard it touches. These waterways influence not only the soil, but also the winds, microclimates, and ultimately the flavors in the wines we were about to taste. 

Cold Sierra water combined with the cooling Delta breezes acts like a natural air conditioner, preserving the bright acidity that hotter climates often lose, creating ideal conditions for balanced, expressive fruit.

The sandy soils also carry an unexpected bonus. Phylloxera, the root louse that devastated European vineyards and reshaped California’s wine industry, cannot survive in sand. That’s why Lodi boasts the world’s largest collection of head-trained, own-rooted vines, producing living history.

A California Zinfandel Education in Ten Glasses 

The lineup included ten wines spanning California's diverse terroirs, each revealing something different about growing conditions and winemaking philosophy. This was a deep dive showing how dramatically wine can shift based on soil, vine age, and winemaker intent.

We began with three Zinfandels from Corkwood Cellars: a 2022 from Steele Vineyard in the Sierra Foothills, bright and fruit-forward; a 2022 from Enz Vineyard in Lime Kiln Valley, lighter at the rim, shaped by one of California's rare limestone deposits; and a more structured 2021 Steele Vineyard Zinfandel with deeper color and firmer tannins. 

Between pours, Tegan wove in stories that added layers, connections, a sense that wine isn't just agriculture and chemistry, it's culture, history, geology, and human stories all fermenting together. He explained how California's first environmental protection laws came from hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada. The practice silted up the Delta, devastated the salmon runs, and destroyed the Portuguese fishing community and others that depended on them. Those same Portuguese immigrants turned to farming and planted many of the old vineyards that now produce some of California's most sought-after wines. Tragedy became legacy. 

The journey continued into Napa Valley, where we tasted contrasting styles. Brown Estate's 2022 Zinfandel brought heat and funk, showing the riper, more opulent side that comes from warmer valley floor sites. Frog's Leap's 2021 offered a counterpoint, the more restrained elegance that Larry Turley (who founded both Frog's Leap and later Turley Wine Cellars) pioneered, balancing ripeness with finesse.

Then came the Ridge duo that stopped everyone mid-conversation. The 2018 Boatman was savory, salty, and completely unexpected. The 2014 Boatman provided a vertical perspective, showing the structure that allows these wines to develop complexity over time.

My favorite of the night was the 2018 Grandpère Vineyard Zinfandel, an original vineyard planted in 1866, which continues to produce fruit with beautiful balance. This was an "old soul" wine with that ineffable quality where you can taste the history, the restraint of the winemaker, and the wisdom of vines that have seen over 150 harvests. 

We closed with two blends that showcased California's multi-varietal history and potential. The 2021 Ridge Geyserville, a blend of Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, and Alicante Bouschet, offered spiced, syrupy aromas with a minerality Tegan described as "like licking a rock." It was the kind of wine that makes you understand why people collect Ridge. The final pour, Invocation's 2021 Estate Blend, brought the evening full circle with yet another expression of how complementary varieties can harmonize into something greater than the sum of their parts.

The Direct-to-Consumer Revolution

For the aspiring winemakers and entrepreneurs in the room, Tegan's business insights were gold.

"This is the easiest time in the last 25 years to sell wine," he told us. By building direct relationships with consumers and cutting out traditional distribution middlemen, small producers can not only survive but thrive. He visits distributors once a year and sells 50% of his production directly to the consumers. The other 50% goes to California, DC, Colorado, and France, though demand exceeds supply.

When he released his Tocalon Vineyard Moondust to his mailing list, it sold out immediately. "There are intellectually curious consumers who want to taste the rainbow," he said. The wine geeks are out there, they're engaged, and they're hungry for producers with authentic stories and a sense of place. This isn't just theory; it's how he's built a successful brand in an increasingly consolidated industry.

Why VITIS Matters

By the end of the evening, we'd absorbed more than just wine knowledge. We learned that variety matters less than the vineyard. That less manipulation often yields better results. That wine, at its core, is "a local language."

Then Tegan brought it all home with one final challenge: "Who can spell Mokelumne River?"

One student nailed it and walked away with a prize and probably the biggest smile of the night. It was the perfect reminder that winemaking is ultimately about place. Know the geography, know the history, know how to spell the names of the rivers that shaped the soils. That's where great wine begins.

This is what makes VITIS special. UC Davis students get to sit across from someone like Tegan Passalacqua, a winemaker at the top of his craft, and just ask questions. It's about learning from practitioners who are actively shaping California wine and understanding that behind every bottle is a series of decisions, risks, philosophies, and usually a few geography lessons. 

If you would like to support educational experiences like VITIS, consider donating to DEVO on Venmo @DevoDavis2025. Your contribution helps bring industry leaders to campus and makes these unique learning opportunities possible. Learn more on the DEVO website.

Kaylianne Jordan is a junior transfer student studying Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. She has a background in culinary arts and a passion for sustainable farming and enjoys exploring the connections between agriculture, winemaking, and community. Outside of college, she loves trying out new recipes, discovering local food spot.