Riesling

Slightly off-dry, with bright citrus, fresh herbs and concentrated fruit supported by fresh acidity. Lemon zest, lime, pine and floral notes appear with fresh-cut grass and petrol. Vibrant orchard fruit and juicy acidity are also present. The grapes are hand harvested, then crushed and pressed. Fermentation is followed by four months of rest, shaping a cool-climate Riesling from the Okanagan Valley.

Crisp, light and zippy, with delicate aromatics and subtle mineral notes. Spice is also present, while Riesling and Pinot Gris contribute structure and underlying citrus. The finish is dry and persistent. The blend contains thirty percent Muscat, twenty-six percent Riesling, twenty-four percent Gewürztraminer and twenty percent Pinot Gris. Fruit comes from both the Similkameen and Okanagan valleys.

From a south-facing 3.5-acre site, self-rooted Riesling vines grow in gravelly clay with calcium carbonate. Lime pulp, lemon verbena, pear, quince, honey, ginger and apricot blossom run through a fine-grained, potently spiced and elastic palate, followed by a lengthy finish. The wine carries 9.62 percent alcohol, 47.2 grams per litre of residual sugar and 11.23 grams per litre of total acidity.

East Kelowna is home to the family-owned winery, where every wine is made on site. Riesling is a central focus among the estate’s plantings. Depending on the vintage, fruit may come from the property or from growers elsewhere in the Okanagan. The winery considers East Kelowna especially well suited to a crisp, clean expression of the grape.

Lychee, rose petals, peach, lime zest and warming spice appear with ripe fruit, soft minerality and a long finish. Gewürztraminer and Riesling each account for forty-nine percent of the blend, with Oraniensteiner and Ehrenfelser making up the remaining two percent. Washington Riesling and Gewürztraminer fermented separately, while Okanagan fruit was co-fermented in stainless steel. Ehrenfelser and Oraniensteiner received skin contact and ambient fermentation.

Grapefruit, blossom and stone fruit define the pronounced aroma. The palate is crisp and fresh, with a touch of residual sugar through the mid-palate balanced by acidity. Fruit from the Gold Digger and Boulders blocks was hand harvested, whole-cluster pressed and fermented separately for eighteen days at cool temperatures. The lots were aged in steel before blending.

Riesling from the organically farmed Stonehouse Vineyard in Oliver is destemmed and fermented spontaneously on the skins for twenty-one days. The wine spends two years on its lees in neutral oak barrels and puncheons before unfined, unfiltered bottling with twenty parts per million of sulphur. Chewy tannins and bright acidity meet citrus peel, dried apricot, sea salt and cardamom.