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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL REVIEW Logo & Label Design | Websites | Advertising the ripkens built this outdoor tasting area and patio with the help of the cable network diy's show "inside out." patio that also has plenty of seating beneath a large redwood ar- bor. The patio also features a gas fire pit, and Susan Ripken said it has been a big hit. "People love being outdoors while visiting the winery," she said. variety safari Central to the Ripkens' philosophy of "no boring wines" is con- tinuing to experiment with blends and varieties. Rich Ripken said he's planning to make more Primitivo after quickly selling out of the 2008 vintage. The wine in some of the barrels in Ripken's cellar doesn't even have a varietal name, just the label "F1-16." This is a type of vine that Ripken said he cultivated and has been waiting for it to be released by the University of California. He said it's a sturdy grape with a thick skin and good acidity. It's a wonder- ful match for mechanized harvesting, he said, similar to Cab- ernet Sauvignon, but it can hang on the vine after a rainstorm and won't fall apart. Ripken said he was one of the first growers in the Lodi area to start working with Tempranillo, and he pledges he's going to "take Tempranillo to the next level." After traveling through Spain he's decided he's ready to start working with Tinta de Toro, which is Tempranillo from the Toro wine region of Spain and what Ripken described as "the finest thing on Earth." The Ripken Port is made with the Portuguese varieties Souzão and Touriga Nacional, and Ripken said he's also very excited about the potential of Grignolino and has a barrel of the lesser known Italian variety. "One great way to sell these different grapes is to make wine," Susan Ripken said. Rich Ripken said that although he couldn't name them pub- } 70 Wines & Vines MAY 2012 GET BRANDED HERE: DesignByWatermark.com (434) 295-5625 licly, representatives from the "big names" in California's grape industry have been through his tasting room to taste the wines made with some of these lesser-known varietals. With so many wineries in the Lodi area focused on Zinfandel, Ripken said he has been striving to create something different, a place for the more adventurous taster. Yet, Susan Ripken adds, when she polled the winery's wine club members about what they would like the winery to produce they voted for an old-vine Zinfandel. "We'll do one barrel of old-vine Zin," Rich Ripken said. "Or maybe two or three…" "That's how it starts," countered his daughter Susan.