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Meet Markus.

I’ve told you about Markus Niggli’s wines before, and you’ll see his wines appear regularly in my Instagram feed. Because I love them. Peruse the profile I wrote on him and his wines a couple of years ago–his story is fascinating.

Markus Wine Co. Sol
Markus Wine Co.’s Sol, a Petite Sirah-dominant red blend.

Just as I was intrigued by Sue Tipton’s bold choice to produce stellar white wines in red-heavy Lodi, the envelope-pushing wines of Markus Niggli likewise impressed me with his iconoclastic approach (and his very, very good wines).

If you want to break away from your rut of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Blanc-Gris-Grigio-whatever, you should seek out his white wines–I suggest his Nimmo, a bone-dry white blend that’s predominately (79%) Kerner. He uses fruit from the Koth family vineyard here in Lodi, obscure German varieties that you’ll probably never see on a tasting room flight anywhere else in California. These are beautiful, thoughtfully crafted wines that are a tremendous value.

If you’re not a white wine drinker, he also makes exquisite red wines, primarily red blends. He uses a lot of Rhône varieties in his blends, but you’ll also find Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and even Portugese variety Touriga Nacional (sourced from Lodi’s highly regarded Silvaspoons vineyard).

His website lists the 2016 Zeitlos as available (90% Syrah/10% Petite Sirah), which gives you the rare opportunity to try one of these gorgeous wines with a little bottle age on it. Go get that wine.