2008 Riesling

Winemaker: Stephen J. Cary

Western Oregon, with its cool climate, has been recognized as an excellent place to grow Riesling for a long time. Early settlers brought the first Riesling vines into the Northern Willamette Valley by 1875. In 1902 an Oregon Riesling took a gold medal at the St. Louis International Exposition. It is interesting to note that the descriptors we use today of “crisp, fresh, appley, mineral, etc.” are the same terms used in 1900! Unfortunately, prohibition brought an end to that initial era of fine wine production and it would take decades to recover.

The modern era of Oregon wine started in 1961 when Richard Sommer planted his Hillcrest Vineyards in the Umpqua Valley. He planted more Riesling than any other grape and he quickly gained a reputation for very fine Riesling wines reminiscent of the noble wines of the Mosel Valley.

In the early expansionist phase of the 1960’s and ‘70’s Riesling was the third most planted variety in Oregon, trailing only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Growth stalled in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s but there is a modest revival of interest today. As of 2006 the State has 665 acres planted, ranking fourth by varietal.

Riesling was included in the first phase of plantings at Yamhill Valley Vineyards, starting in 1983; the second block was added in 1985. We love this great grape and were convinced we have a fine site for it.

The 2006 growing season was very good to our Riesling. It was a long, warm season but not hot. The grapes hung a long time and developed that complexity that only seems to come from a long, cool finish. We harvested lovely ripe, acid balanced fruit on October 27 and have been fans of the wine ever since. Sometimes in this kind of year there is an overall increase in concentration and intensity, both flavor and acid, that encourages me to stop the fermentation with more residual sweetness than other years. That’s what we did in 2006 and the resulting was has the rich character I associate with fine Ausleses. See what you think!

My structural models are wines from the Middle Mosel Valley, from Kabinett to Auslese. That is not to say we are trying to make German wine. Rather, that is the textural model we aim toward; crisp wines with modest residual sugar to balance the substantial acids. The flavors are uniquely Oregon, our clay and silt soils are very different from the slate soils of Germany. Additionally we are at different latitudes, have different summer temperature and rainfall patterns, and the wines express all those differences and more in their flavors.

We see Riesling as rather versatile. We drink it alone on summer afternoons on the deck. We use it as an aperitif wine while deciding which Pinot Noir to have with the entrée. And a favorite use is cooking chicken with it in an adaptation of an Alsation classic and then enjoying dinner with the same wine. Wonderful!

One final note, Riesling is a remarkable grape for a number of reasons. One of the most interesting is just how robust it is. It resists rain and rot better than any other variety we grow. It continues to ripen in cool, wet falls when the other varieties have all gone to sleep and the sun is low in the sky. When it does get rot infections, they usually turn out to be beneficial, the wonder of botrytis. And it makes very tasty wine even when it doesn’t get super ripe. We’ve made delicious wine from 17.5* brix grapes. Try that with other varieties! Buy Online

2008 Riesling Statistics

Harvest Date: October 27 Vineyards: Two Estate Blocks: total 2.5 acres Yield: 5.5 Tons, 2.2 Tons per Acre Brix: 23.1 - pH: 3.0 – Ta: 7.4 g/ltr

Bottling Bottling Date: February 25, 2009 pH: 3.02 – Ta: 6.8 g/ltr – R.S.: 3.4% - Alc: 12.1% Total Production: 200 cases