During the third week of August, when picking Cinsault for her rosé wine in the Bechthold Vineyard – Lodi’s oldest continuously farmed growth (planted in 1886) – Onesta winemaker Jillian Johnson attributed 2014’s lower wine yields mostly to the drought: “In the past we’ve gotten as much as 24 tons from the south end of Bechthold. This year that same block gave us just 7 tons. 2014 has been so dry, but that can be a good thing. This year we’ll make wines that are more concentrated than usual. Our rosé will be rich in fruit, with a great backbone of acidity, and our reds will be deeper in color and sturdier in structure.”
