The planting of Bogle’s Petit Sirah vines in 1968 was a desperate attempt by Jody’s grandfather to compensate for a dead harvest of potatoes, and has now grown into over 2 000 acres of grapes. Bogle spoke proudly of the winemakers and staff at her vineyards, as well as their unique grading system that tracks grapes from field to bottle. Together, these contributions ultimately culminated in wines that achieved the accolades of Wine Enthusiast’s Winery of the Year for 2019, and California Green Medal Leader in 2018 for sustainable winegrowing.
Describing her family as ‘proactively sustainable,’ Bogle explained their goal of achieving 100% sustainable energy use through the installation of a wind turbine, as well as an incentive program for their producer partners. Gaining a more nuanced understanding of Lodi Rules, America’s original sustainable winegrowing program, participants discussed the importance of clean wines without additives and what impact, if any, the ‘natural’ wine movement is having internationally.
Select Bogle Wines have been present in Norway since 2013, thanks to importer Vinarius. Inspired by the success of this unique tasting, AmCham is already coordinating a similar June event – as well as contributing to California Wine Institute’s immense European Wine Tour visit to Oslo this autumn. Stay tuned!