J. Lohr’s Valdiguié: A Case of Mistaken Identity, and the Ultimate Chillable Summer Red

Once mistaken for Gamay, J. Lohr’s Valdiguié has become a cult-favorite summer red: light, juicy, and perfect served chilled.

Valdiguié has thrived where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay traditionally excell.

Wine is full of surprises.

Jerry Lohr found that out when he planted 15 acres of what he believed to be Gamay in Monterey County back in 1972. It unknowingly set the stage for a decades-long case of mistaken identity.

For over 20 years, J. Lohr bottled the wine as Gamay. But in the late 1990s, famed French ampelographer Pierre Galet delivered the twist: the grape was not Gamay at all. It was Valdiguié, a relatively obscure French varietal rarely found outside of the Languedoc.

Rather than be dismayed by the discovery, J. Lohr leaned into the opportunity to craft a wine that was uniquely their own. The unheralded varietal was championed as a uniquely Californian expression of a forgotten grape.

The J. Lohr Valdiguié is best served chilled.