2008 Russian River Valley Riesling – $22

A full-bodied Riesling with aromas of lychee, golden apple and dried peach leading to a palate of honeydew melon, Bosc pear and kiwi and a finish of blossoming grapefruit with a light mineral zest.

Winemaker's Comments

This Riesling displays defined aromas of lychee, golden apple, and dried peach. The intense palate of honeydew melon, Bosc pear, and kiwi continues into the finish of tart grapefruit with a light mineral zest. Try this with halibut a la barigoule. This is a dry-style, full-bodied Riesling, capable of storing in your cellar and enjoying many years later.

Riesling

The making of quality Riesling is very challenging. The delicate nature of the Riesling grape requires special handling during harvesting to avoid crushing or bruising the skin. Without this care, the broken skins could leak tannin into the juice, giving a coarse taste and throwing off balance the Riesling’s range of flavors and aromas.

The grapes are chilled right after picking to preserve the delicate flavors. The juice is also chilled immediately after going through the press. During fermentation, the wine is cooled in temperature controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks kept around 50 degrees farenheight. Like our Sauvignon Blanc, we do not use malolactic fermentation. This helps preserve the tart, acidic characteristic of the wine that gives Riesling its “thirst-quenching” characteristic and high quality.

Russian River Valley

Stretching from Healdsburg in the north to Sebastopol and along the Russian River to the Pacific ocean, the Russian River Valley encompasses close to 10,000 acres of vineyard plantings, most of which are planted to bench land and valley floor. The region’s cool climate, defined by fog intrusion from the Pacific Ocean and its proximity to the river, bring out the acidity and structure for great wine. Many growers and winemakers desire this cool climate for the ability for a long hang time for the grapes complexities if one so chooses.

Twenty odd years ago, the beautiful redwood-clad Russian River Valley was an unassuming mixed agricultural area, which drew little attention in status wine circles. Russian River Valley, granted official appellation standing in 1983, is now one of the most recognized AVA names in America. The appellation is internationally renowned for challenging varieties like Pinot Noir, which excels in this cool-climate, yielding highly expressive wines. A lean and restrained style of Chardonnay is also a signature representation for the region. One sixth of Sonoma County’s total vineyard acres fall within the Russian River AVA boundaries, all sharing to varying degrees the defining characteristic of cooling fog that is drawn inland from the Pacific each day.

Preferred Pricing

1 case: 20% off, 2 cases: 30% off, 3 - 4 cases: 40% off, 5 + cases: 50% off
Wine club members are given an additional 5% off on all purchases.