Today Winemaker Bruce MaGuire (in the blue sweater) with David, Andy and Enrique inspected the frost damage in one of our younger blocks of Pinot Noir. The prognostic is not good. Some varieties, such as the Riesling, are an almost total wipe-out. The Pinot Noir which normally produces 2.5 to 3 tons per acre looks like 1/2 a ton per acre — not that much different from last year which was also damaged by frost. There were a lot of sad faces.
The group met to plan how to farm what has survived. The amount of fruit that a vine carries will determine much of its care – balancing the fruit with the vine. On the positive side low yields often produce outstanding wines.
Unfortunately, the prognostic is the same throughout California, everyone is certain to be scrambling for grapes.
Santa Barbara Winery 2007 Santa Rita Riesling 7.3
The nobel grape Riesling is enjoying a well earned resurgence of popularity in America as increasing numbers of writers and chefs become enamored with the wine’s flavors and suitability for pairing with a wide range of foods.
As we recall, Riesling was really one of the first grapes that showed the promise of the Santa Ynez Valley for fine wine growing back in the middle 1970’s. Pierre Lafond planted the first block of Riesling in our Lafond Vineyard in 1972 and winemaker Bruce McGuire has crafted several styles of this wine since his arrival to finish the 1981 harvest.
Recognizing that residual sugar (r.s.) marks the style of each Riesling we produce, either the word “dry” or a number representing the amount of r.s. in the wine appears on the label under the AVA designation. The amount of r.s. in each style may vary slightly from year to year as Bruce balances this sweetness with the natural acid level that a particlar vintage achieved.
The “7.3″ style can only be made when a section of our Lafond Vineyard meets Bruce’s criteria for clean, flavorful fruit and firm acidity to balance a higher level of sugar. Good weather for a later harvest helps with the magical flavor intensity found in this wine. Flavors of stone fruits such as peach, apricot or nectarine appear in this Riesling style as well as pear and tropical flowers.
The balancing acid is key in tightening the flavors at the back of the mouth and is responsible for the long, satisfying finish. A very pleasant stand alone sipping wine, it would also be a nice match for a peach tart. This is another wine built for extended aging. Eight to twelve years should prove quite interesting.
Suggested retail: 20.00
To Purchase:
Winemaker Bruce MaGuire periodically checks the red wines from the 2007 harvest for completion of malolactic fermentation. Some varieties will undergo this secondary fermentation, the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid , very quickly. Others especially those varieties harvested late are slower to undergo this process — one reason is that, because it is later in the season, it is colder and cold inhibits fermentation.
There was a time, and not so long ago, when malolactic fermentation was not as understood as it is today – it was discouraged – with the unfortunate result that it sometimes occurred within the bottle and spoilt the wine. The benefits today, of a carefully controlled malolactic fermentation, are well recognized. And aside from a more stable wine it enriches the wine with more complex flavor and balance.
Malic acid is most easily recognized in apples. Some white wines are also encouraged to go through malolactic fermentation especially those rich buttery Chardonnays. If fruit flavors, however, are essential such as in Riesling, Rosé, and Sauvignon Blanc, the wines are kept chilled, until bottling, to prevent this from occurring.
The photo below is of Bruce in the lab, at Lafond Winery, ’spotting’ the different barrels. He puts several drops on each ’spot’ on a special paper. Each spot represents a different barrel, and when he places the paper in a solution it will tell him if the fermentation has been completed, or how far it has gone. He uses a small capillary tube, that he rests on the board at his side, to deposit the ‘drops’ on the paper. Slow but effective.
Santa Barbara Winery
Santa Ynez Valley 2007 Riesling 1.7
The nobel grape Riesling is enjoying a well earned resurgence of popularity in America as increasing numbers of writers and chefs become enamored with the wine’s flavors and suitability for pairing with a wide range of foods.
Peer through the fog of history and remember Riesling was really one of the first grapes that showed the promise of the Santa Ynez Valley for fine wine growing back in the middle 1970’s. Pierre Lafond planted the first block of Riesling in our Lafond Vineyard in 1972 and winemaker Bruce McGuire has crafted several styles of this wine since his arrival to finish the 1981 harvest.
Recognizing that residual sugar (r.s.) marks the style of each Riesling we produce, either the word “dry” or a number representing the amount of r.s. in the wine appears on the label under the AVA designation.
The amount of r.s. in each style may vary slightly from year to year as Bruce balances this sweetness with the natural acid level that a particlar vintage achieved. The “1.7″ style happens to be the most versatile style of Riesling we make.
Very good for sipping by itself on a warm day (though we would have a plate of light cheeses and nectarines handy) it is also a great choice for Pacific Rim cusine featuring spicy curry, much of the cuisine from India, and pork sausages, especially when served with a German sensibility.
Because of the firm acidity, our Riesling also rewards ten years of aging to gain that special “aged character” good Riesling attains.
Suggested retail 18.00/750ml
To order:
Our first bottling since harvest. We bottled two Rieslings, one with 1.7 percent residual sugar and the other with 7.4 percent. The sweetness is arrived, not by sweetening, but by stopping fermentation by dropping the temperature to 30F. This is not so difficult as the wines are fermented at 45F.
In addition to these two Rieslings we are aging in barrels a small lot of Riesling to be completely dry. This wine will be bottled this coming summer.
It’s pretty unbelievable that we are a full week into November. Harvest is coming to an end, and we are now getting ready for the holidays. Many of you will be entertaining friends and family and are probably starting to think about which wines will be best suited for your holiday meal. With the variety of flavors present in Thanksgiving dinner, you should look for versatility as well as intensity and complexity to stand up to the culinary competition. You want a wine with a solid acidic backbone to cut the rich flavors and aromas that uniquely present themselves on Thanksgiving Day.
In my opinion Pinot Noir is the most food friendly wine because of its complex red berry flavors and aromas, its mild tannins, moderate alcohol, and lengthy acidity. Its light to medium body and hints of subtle oakiness help make it “the little black dress” of wine and food pairing (as theatrically quoted by our Assistant Winemaker Ryan Ralston).
When choosing a white wine I would recommend a light and delicate Reisling. Its intrinsic acidity showcases and enhances the complex and slightly sweet flavors of turkey, cranberry sauce, root vegetables, sweet potatoes and yams. When choosing a Reisling note that its diversity comes from the range of sweetness (measured by residual sugar) of the varietal. Vegetables that are sweet or imply sweetness are a lovely pair with Reisling.
Another thing to keep in mind when entertaining is the temperature at which you serve your wines. White wines are best served chilled but not glacially cold. Red wines, especially those that are lighter to medium bodied, are best when served at a cool cellar temperature (60-65 degrees). Because of the slightly higher alcohol and acidity that our terroir provides, Pinots will benefit from being served at below room temperature. The higher acidity and freshness of our wines complement sweeter lighter flavored meats and pair well with a mass majority of anything served.
Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery
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