4 minute read
LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards
By Jill Kwiatkoski, Sommelier (CAPS)
Many of the Old World wineries we deal with are rooted in family wine histories that go back centuries. New World wineries had a later start than those in Europe, but we have built up relationships with many who also claim very impressive pedigrees. One of these amazing wineries—which we have worked with for over 15 years— is LangeTwins Family Winery & Vineyards in Lodi, California. LangeTwins—named after twin brothers Brad and Randall Lange—is the epitome of a family-run winery.
The Lange family has been on their land in Lodi for five generations: Brad and Randall’s grandparents started farming in the 1870s, growing non-irrigated watermelons. Their farm grew, and in 1916 they bought their first vineyards, where the twins’ father gained experience and started the family roots in viticulture. He eventually expanded their farm to include the River Ranch, where the twins would ultimately raise their families and reside to this day.
After returning from college in the 1960s, Brad and Randall purchased a small vineyard from their father and began their farming partnership. At the River Ranch, they built their lives as neighbours, raised their families, and reignited their love for the land. Joe Lange, Randall’s son and the brand’s International Sales Director, describes how “the two evolved their business past solely farming their own acres as their father did, starting a vineyard management company that provided the basis for growth over the last five decades.”
When you drink a fine wine, it is easy to forget that at the root of the experience is agriculture—a risky business that is not for the faint of heart. Joe describes his father and uncle’s journey: “In the early 1970s, they quickly realized that the 135 acres was not enough to provide for their two growing families. They chose to reinvest every nickel and dime back into their farm and vineyard management company—which was made possible with the incomes of their wives, Charlene and Susan.”
In the 2000s, at which time LangeTwins managed 7,000+ acres under vine and 30+ varieties across multiple appellations, they faced a wine industry in a time of major change. As a family, they decided to leverage everything, putting it all on the line to evolve their vineyard business into a winery operation as well. “For us, it was the only way we felt we could better guarantee our sustainable future on the land as farmers first,” says Joe. “Our journey into winemaking started and will always be based on the vines and our love for farming. Ultimately, respect for the farmer and farming is at the core of our family and our business.” Joe’s father, Randall, adds: “We have a family history here in the Lodi region, and we have a connection to the soils that we’re honoured to farm.”
Currently, the family winery’s legacy is being upheld by all five of the twins’ children. Randall’s daughter Marissa is President of the company, and her brothers, Aaron and Joe are VP of Vineyard Operations and International Sales Director, respectively. Brad’s son Philip is the Director of Vineyard Operations, and his daughter Kendra is the Sustainability Manager. “We think generationally, and we farm generationally. I think of my great-grandchildren and what they will do,” says Randall.
Jones & Company is excited to carry the new Family Grown line from LangeTwins along with the Midnight Reserve Bordeaux-style Red Blend and Centennial Old Vine Zinfandel that we have carried for years. Joe describes this new line of wines: “As a wine-drinking family, we’ve always appreciated those wines which pack in the value and really overdeliver on quality. These bottlings are focused on being varietally true, supremely balanced wines with consistent quality from vintage to vintage. On top of that, these are all dual-certified sustainably grown wines, estate-farmed and from a real farming family—the real deal.”
