Archive for the 'Riesling' Category

Thanksgiving Wines

Published on November 10, 2009 in Joanie Hudson, Nebbiolo, Riesling, Santa Barbara Winery and Wine and Food Pairing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Thanksgiving has always been one of my absolute favorite holidays.  The entire month of November is spent in anticipation of this amazing meal that brings friends and family together from all across the world, just to sit around the dinner table together for this special night.  This drawing factor of Thanksgiving is one of the things I love most about wine as well.  I am so greatful for any event or beverage that has the ability to bring people together to relax at the end of their day, and reflect on what matters most in this world, the company that we surround ourselves with and close friends and family.  Thanksgiving is a North American Harvest Festival, and it pretty much signals the end of a vintage for our winemakers, just in time to get everything in barrel to be home with family for the holiday. 

That being said, Thanksgiving dinner is always a very interesting topic in the realm of food pairings.  The reason that there will never be a single answer for what wine goes well with Thanksgiving dinner (a question I get asked repeatedly) is that my Thanksgiving dinner is likely very different from my neighbors, whose dinner is very different than their neighbors.  We all have our traditions and special Thanksgiving recipes and ingredients, and there are so many different wines that work well with each aspect of the plate.  So when you’re thinking about what wines to serve at Thanksgiving, put some thought into the different flavors, textures, and weights that will be put together in the kitchen.  Think about your guests, think about what you like to drink, and then make your decision from there.  There are some general rules that can serve as a guideline, but that’s all it is, a basic guideline, you as a consumer are responsible for finding out what you like and don’t like, and that just comes from tasting lots of different wines!  I personally love Rieslings and Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir with Turkey, Grenache and Nebbiolo are also generally hits at the table as well.  The jamminess of our Negrette is another nice pairing with Cranberry sauce and stuffing. 

Our tasting room is a nice venue to taste through a few different options and see what might work best with your meal.  We are open daily from 10am-5pm, and are closed only on Thanksgiving Day.

Joanie Hudson, Director of National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Riesling Rules

Published on October 1, 2009 in Riesling. 0 Comments

Nice to see Riesling getting more and more attention.  The noble varietal was just featured in the New York Times by Eric Asimov.  Food friendly, affordable, and complex, Riesling has been a long time favorite at Santa Barbara Winery.

Here is an excerpt from the article.  Click Here for the full article, titled Riesling Gets a U.S. Foothold, on the New York Times website.

Riesling advocates continued to preach even though nobody seemed to be listening. And then it happened. While pinot noir, abetted by the popular film “Sideways,” was soaring in popularity, riesling was quietly gaining ground, too. In the last five years riesling has secured a neat little niche for itself in stores and on restaurant wine lists.

Now, it seems riesling is being grown everywhere. It comes from Germany and Alsace, of course. More rieslings are arriving from Austria, which is great news — I love them. I’m even seeing a little riesling from Italy. Australia is bullish on riesling, New Zealand calfish, and even South Africa’s in on the act.

Let’s not neglect the good old U.S. of A. California, for example, has more than doubled its planting of riesling in this decade, to almost 3,100 acres in 2008 from about 1,500 acres in 2000…

Joanie Hudson, Director National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Harvesting Lafond Riesling

Published on September 21, 2009 in Harvest and Riesling. 0 Comments

I got back to the winery today after a week-long sales trip to New York and Washington DC, and I can’t express enough how happy I am to come back to the daily ongoings of Harvest.  No room for jet lag here as the energy of the press and production staff keeps me very upbeat.

Lafond Vineyard Riesling is coming in today.  This Riesling is newly planted, and this year marks the first year of fruit from the new plantings – about a ton per acre.  Bruce works with the fruit once it comes in to determine stylistic balance between acids and sugars to create differing levels of dryness for multiple bottlings.  Riesling is currently one of five varietals we have plated at our estate vineyard, the others include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Grenache. 

Once the grapes come in, the juice is pressed off of the skins, then chilled, racked, and subsequently fermented (within the next week).  We already have Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Orange Muscat fermenting in the stainless steel tanks (plus two barrels of Sauvignon Blanc).  We are still waiting for a little bit more Sauvignon Blanc to come in from La Presa Vineyard and then the “tsunami of Chardonnay barrels in,” says Assistant Winemaker Ryan Ralston.

Joanie Hudson, Director National and International Marketing, Santa Barbara Winery / Lafond Winery & Vineyards

SB News Press Article – Rieslings

Published on July 9, 2009 in Riesling and Santa Barbara Winery. 0 Comments

Today’s Santa Barbara News Press features Santa Barbara Winery Riesling, written by Gabe Saglie.

Great descriptions on each of our three currently released Rieslings:

Santa Barbara Winery Riesling Dry 2007, 20.00
“The driest of the winery’s three Rieslings is indeed bone dry and very crisp. It has a delicious lip-smacking quality, with bright citrus-inspired aromas and flavors and a clean, mineral, wet stone quality on the palate. Apple flavors upfront give way to a super-dry finish. This is the wine you sip while you’re lounging by the pool on a lazy, sunny afternoon, or while you’re leisurely manning the grill. It’ll pair perfectly with teeth-plucked grapes off the stem, light, crubly cheese with crackers or those little quiche appetizers. This wine was aged for nine months in neutral oak. Act fast, since only 93 cases were produced.”

Santa Barbara Winery Riesling 1.7 2007, 18.00
“As the moniker on the label implies, this wine enjoys 1.7 percent residual sugar. Think of it as the middle-of-the-road Riesling, delivering some of the same fruit-intense flavors and lean palate feel of the “Dry” but with a magnified honey streak. It’s more viscous and supple on the tongue, but with a clean finish that exhibits soft flavors of butterscotch. This is definitely a meal wine; once you’ve left the chaise lounge, you pop the cork on this wine to enjoy the bounty on the table. This is the most popular and widely produced of the three Rieslings, accounting for a production of 737 cases.”

Santa Barbara Winery Riesling 7.3 2007, 20.00
“This one’s the sweet darling of the bunch, with 7.3 percent residual sugar. The nose is so beautiful with a cavalcade of apricot and nectarine in its bouquet, with clean pear and apple flavors that follow. Don’t be fooled: This wine’s buxom feel in the mouth is wonderfully balanced by an intense acidity, thereby making this wine just as food-friendly as the others. Good with an especially spicy dish? Yes. Or stark cheeses, even. But this could also be the wine you bring out of the fridge upon the meal’s close as dusk’s descent becomes imminent and the one you love brings out a generous scoop of peach cobbler. I loved the long finish of this wine since I didn’t want the flavors to disappear anytime soon. Aged entirely in stainless steel, 152 cases were made.”

The rest of the article appears in the Food Section of June 9, 2009 Santa Barbara News Press.

Santa Barbara Winery New Release

Published on April 28, 2009 in Riesling and Wine News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

2007 Dry Riesling

Riesling’s allure over that of other white wines is the necessary precision and attention to detail that goes into making this wonderfully versatile noble grape maintain its racy acidity and interestingly complex flavor profile.

In Alsace and Austria, Riesling is traditionally made into a very dry wine. Winemaker Bruce McGuire has experimented over the years with different levels of sweetness, measured by residual sugar from dry to late harvest style Rieslings. This, our dry style, shows off the body and complex flavors highlighting peach and nectarine backed by a firm, mineral finish to make for a very food friendly wine.

Aging in two neutral French barrels sur lie adds to the fleshy and full weight of the wine. Bright and aromatic, this wine should age beautifully. Often described as a “sipping wine” we recommend trying this Riesling with Asian Cuisine or white meats such as glazed Pork and roasted Turkey. It is also in good company with a greater variety of cheeses than most wines are comfortable with.
Suggested retail: 20.00
To order: