Karen Birmingham
USA
Karen's Wines
- USA
- 15 wines
- 4 styles
She's an award-winning Lodi expert and your 5th Annual Winemaker of the Year!
- Karen Birmingham proved her incredible talent working for years at sustainable winery LangeTwins (with David Akiyoshi).
- Angel funding has helped her start her own project featuring breathtaking grape varieties many Lodi wineries are afraid of playing with!
- Karen's delicate touch always brings out the best in the fruit (she's won back-to-back Gold and Double Gold medals to prove it!) and really makes these grapes shine in the warm, sandy soils she calls home.
Karen Birmingham's Story
As a student at Washington State University, Karen jumped at the opportunity to be a research lab assistant under Dr. Charles Edwards in the Department of Food Science, who worked with the Washington wine industry. She earned her BS in Microbiology and MS in Food Science, focusing on wine fermentations. She was interested in every aspect of wine and winemaking and learned everything she could about the wine industry by visiting different wine regions and tasting as many wines as possible. During her research studies, she made small lots of wines and learned the science behind winemaking.
Originally from Sacramento, Karen moved back to California after graduation when she was offered a great job with a well-known food research laboratory. She spent weekends visiting wineries, hosting tastings with friends, and thinking about winemaking.
Karen needed to pursue her winemaking passion, so she moved to Lodi, a region with a long history of grape growing and winemaking. As newlyweds, she and her husband purchased an old farmhouse on a hill with 5 acres of Merlot grapes located in Clements Hills. She set her sights on Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Winery, wanting to work for an industry icon that revolutionized California grape growing and winemaking.
Karen was hired as an enologist responsible for maintaining the 70,000+ barrel program and working with all the winemakers. She would begin each day tasting over 100 barrels and making blends. Tasting so many wines with many winemakers quickly trained her palate and taught her the art of wine blending. She learned traditional winemaking techniques and made varietally correct wines. She met many Lodi growers and spent time in the vineyards learning about grape growing, participated in vineyard research, and watched grapes ripen for harvest.
Karen was promoted to winemaker and ultimately became the lead winemaker for all Woodbridge red wines. As part of a large company that became even larger when Constellation acquired Robert Mondavi in 2004, she participated in tastings with winemakers throughout California, attended viticulture and enology conferences, and had access to all the latest research and innovations. She made millions of gallons of wine, tasting each tank every step of the way.
In 2008, Karen joined a new state-of-the-art winery in Lodi built by the Lange family, dynamic and innovative growers whose vineyards are benchmarks of the region. Karen still works with LangeTwins to make premium wines showcasing Lodi’s exceptional vineyards. In her role at LangeTwins, Karen works with many well-known winemakers making custom wines. Naked Wines recognized the quality of her wines, so she's making special wines for Angels with a focus on the great wines of Lodi and Clarksburg.
Karen likes to make fruit-forward, friendly wines that are easy to drink and enjoy – wines that are elegant and balanced and can be enjoyed while relaxing, hanging out with friends and with meals.
Karen’s favorite time of year is harvest. She loves watching the grapes come in, tasting the juices every day, making winemaking decisions, and figuring out how wines will taste after months or years of bottle age. It’s an exciting time that requires her constant attention. When harvest is over, she enjoys tasting all the new wines.
The wines Karen makes for you will always be a true reflection of the vintage and variety. She makes wines from the top vineyards in Lodi and Clarksburg and nurtures each wine to bring you the very best of the region.
Karen's Archangels
Greetings. My name is Doug and I joined Naked Wines in 2016 through the introductory Voucher. Looking back, it was one of the best moves I have made. Great Wines at Great Prices and Guaranteed Satisfaction. Come on in folks, the waters here are excellent. Cheers 🍷
I am a RETIRED computer geek that worked for a large consumer products company. I have always liked wine to a certain extent since I was old enough to drink it (or my parents would let me try it). However, I was seriously bit by the wine bug a number of years ago and began trying everything! I'm more partial to reds and sparklers than whites (especially sweet wines - color me dry), but love trying them all! Bas vers le haut!
I love wine and love running. I run to burn the calories to drink wine ;-)
Transplant to Florida here. Pharmacist, wine enthusiast, photographer, and traveler. I LOVE the Naked Wines experience- getting the opportunity to try wonderful new wines on a regular basis is so exciting and enlightening!
Wish you all Hakuna Matata - No worries for the rest of your days. Relax and drink more NakedWines!
