2010 Riesling

The cool Monterey County sites from which we source our Riesling grapes are at the northern end of the Salinas Valley, not far from the Pacific Ocean. In this cool, marine-influenced region, with its distinctive sandy and clay loam soils, winds sweep through the vineyards during the afternoon hours and ocean fog blankets the vines at night. These conditions ensure that our Riesling grapes mature at a slow, even pace, retaining excellent acidity while developing ripe, fully developed varietal flavors.

To capture the floral aromas characteristic of Monterey County Riesling, we harvest our grapes in the cool night and early morning hours, then immediately press the whole clusters to fully capture their fresh, pure juice. After cold-setting the juice for 48 hours, we inoculate it with four different cultured yeast strains – two imparting pronounced floral aromas, one enhancing the wine’s texture and one ideal for slow fermentations at cold temperatures (48°–50°F). To accentuate the wine’s fruitness, we arrest the fermentation before all the sugar has converted to alcohol, cold-settle the wine in tank, then bottle it at its freshest and most vibrant. Our Riesling does not undergo malolactic fermentation, nor does it spend any time in oak.