Dent de Lion (pronounced DAWN-d-lee-yon) is a new handcrafted wine brand established for the best of all reasons… to save a special old Lodi vineyard!

In late 2022, proprietor Erik Hill opened his front door to the knock of an elderly neighbor asking if he would be interested in purchasing her family’s 70+ year-old, head-trained Zinfandel vineyard. She explained that the grape business had been tough on her lately, necessitating its sale, but she wanted the vineyard to go to a neighbor who would appreciate and continue to farm the old vines. You see, her parents, Jack and Charleen Lauchland, originally planted the 40 acres of Zinfandel vines in the 1950s with the help of their five daughters (hence the name “Sisters Vineyard”). This vineyard was considered a Lauchland family heirloom, and a living museum of Lodi, California’s rich grape-growing heritage.

Not to be dissuaded by the fact that in 2022 the grape market was in free fall—and there was little chance of selling the grapes to any winery—Erik and Raissa Hill, along with partners Christopher (“Damo”) and Richelle Russo, purchased the vineyard with a harebrained idea to make their own wine and brand. In other words, the best way to save the vineyard was to make wines with a taste that could not be mistaken for anything else but that particular vineyard and terroir.

To do so, the Hills and Russos sought the expertise of renowned winemaker Gerardo Espinosa of Lodi Crush in downtown Lodi. Known for producing artisanal wines with minimal intervention, Espinosa produced the inaugural bottling of Dent de Lion from the 2023 harvest. With Espinosa’s help, the goal was to produce a premium, contemporary style of wine in as natural—or “minimum intervention”—a manner as possible. In short, a distinguished wine from a distinguished Heritage Old Vine Vineyard.

The inspiration for the dandelion-adorned Dent de Lion labels came from a 2023 trip to the Paris Paralympics, followed by a visit with Russo family members in Sicily, Italy. It was there that a younger family member returned from her first day of school with a painting of a dandelion, the seeds depicted with each child’s fingerprint floating in the air to symbolize everyone’s dispersal to summer break, and then coming back together for the new school year.

The idea of people floating away under the demands of everyday life, then coming back together—refreshed, restored, and ready to create new memories—was symbolic of the Hills’ and Russos’ own coming together here in Lodi. Every harvest brings our families together to pick grapes, just like the dandelion paintings we saw from the children in Sicily, and that are emblazoned on our Dent de Lion wine labels.

It is our hope that our wines will help serve as the catalyst that brings your family and friends together for food, fun, and memories, just the same. This is the Dent De Lion wish for you!

—Erik & Raissa Hill / Richelle & Damo Russo