On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, we interviewed Brenden Wood. Brenden is the red-wine winemaker for J. Lohr winery. We covered seven new-release red wines: one from the 2022 vintage, five from the 2021, and their “Signature” wine from the 2020 vintage. Check out what we learned from and about Brendon in the post.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits Brendon shared.
- Jerry Lohr is 87 years old and is still very active.
- Brendan went to Cal Poly and graduated in 1999 with a degree in biochemistry.
- Brendan has been at J. Lohr since 2004. He has been an enologist, and was the assistant winemaker for a while. He was made the red winemaker in 2019.
- Red Wines are all made in Paso Robles.
- White Wines are made in Monterey (Arroyo Seco) by white winemaker Kristen Barnhisel.
- J. Lohr is still family run by the second generation. Steve Lohr is the CEO. Cynthia Lohr is the Chief Brand Officer and head of marketing.
- J. Lohr’s first wine was made in 1974.
- Home Ranch Vineyard is about 1,000 acres. It is right in front of the winery.
- The “Cuvee” program arose after a trip to Bordeaux in 1990. First vintage of the program was 1996-97.
- The first “Signature” Cab was made in 2013. It is Jerry Lohr’s statement wine.
- Petite Sirah does exceptionally well in Paso. It’s dry climate helps it avoid mold.
- Many of their wines are sold in 6 packs and 3 packs. I am a fan of this option.
- J. Lohr 2022 “Gesture GSM” (Adelaida District) $40 (KWGTP 90)
- J. Lohr 2021 Red Blend “Cuvee POM” (Paso Robles) $50 (KWGTP 94)
- J. Lohr 2021 Red Blend “Cuvee St. E” (Paso Robles)$50 (KWGTP 93)
- J. Lohr 2021 Red Blend “Cuvee Pau” (Paso Robles) $50 (KWGTP 93.5)
- J. Lohr 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon “Signature” (Paso Robles) $100 (KWGTP 92.5)
- J. Lohr 2021 Petit Verdot “Home Ranch” (Paso Robles) $45 (KWGTP 93.5)
- J. Lohr 2021 Petite Sirah “Tower Road” (Paso Robles) $35 (KWGTP 93)
You can find reviews of past and future J. Lohr wines that we cover on the J. Lohr KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! Ken