Our alpine desert climate, along with a compact growing season, at nearly 5,900 feet above sea level, produces grapes of high concentration and vibrant acidity. Silky in texture, our off-dry style of Riesling is brimming with notes of ripe peach and starfruit, and it pairs perfectly with a multitude of cuisines, especially spicy dishes.
The Riesling here at the Redstone Vineyard was prolific in 2018, and we were excited to craft three different styles in our inaugural vintage; however, this off-dry version was the core of the year’s production. We specifically blended this Riesling to be in an approachable, yet complex, style.
This wine is vibrant and clean, and the aromas of peaches, nectarines, starfruit, and flowers persist in a long, balanced finish. Off-dry Riesling is one of the great food pairing wines of the world, as it accompanies Mexican, Asian, and other spicy foods like very few other wines do. It is also a perfect aperitif wine or cheese-pairing option.
The 2018 Riesling was awarded a double gold medal in the 2019 Colorado Governor’s Cup competition and an 85-point score in Wine Spectator. In the March 2020 issue, the magazine recommended it as one of 14 wines to try from the Mountain West region.
$20 750mL
Wine Specs
- Variety - 100% Riesling
- Clone - 9
- AVA - West Elks
- Vineyard - Redstone Vineyard, Wind Machine Block
- Harvest Dates - September 29 and October 13, 2018
- Fermentation - temperature-controlled stainless steel
- Aging - stainless steel
- pH - 3.2
- TA - 6.55 g/L
- RS - 30 g/L
- Alcohol - 12.6%
- Production - 330 cases
Behind the Bottle
When we first purchased the Redstone Vineyard in 2017, one of the most frequent comments we heard, hastily uttered with arms crossed, from other Colorado wineries or farmers was, "Wow, you guys have a lot of Riesling! You're never going to be able to sell all that Riesling. Are you going to make wine from all of it?"
Coming from backgrounds as sommeliers, hearing this resistance toward what many wine professionals consider to be the single, greatest grape in the world, surprised us. The West Elks AVA, in particular, seemed so perfectly suited for high-quality Riesling. Although the growing season is short, the extremely intense UV exposure compensates for the lack of time.
To us, the Redstone Vineyard seemed like an especially amazing place to grow and make Riesling. The previous owners never produced a single-vineyard Riesling from this property; instead, they would blend the more acidic Redstone fruit with the softer, riper fruit from their vineyards in Palisade. We knew from the start that we wanted to produce a single-vineyard, 100% Redstone, Riesling, even though we hadn't actually tasted it before.
Many of the most famous regions in the world for Riesling hail from northern latitudes, but there is a significant water influence. Take the Mosel in Germany or the Finger Lakes in New York – they are respectively moderated by the Mosel river and the various lakes within New York's most prominent winemaking region. Although we are missing that complementary humidity found in those regions, we are excited to showcase our unique version of Riesling grown in the extremely arid, high-alpine desert of Western Colorado.
In our former lives as sommeliers in Denver, we hosted many events and led many seminars about food and wine paring. One question that often arises in paring situations is, "Which wine should I pair with spicy food?" The problem is that a dry wine makes spicy food taste even spicier. It is why beer and cocktails often replace wine in these situations.
Enter Off-Dry Riesling.
In general, aside from sparkling wine, Riesling is the quintessential food-pairing option. A slightly sweet or "off-dry" version of Riesling is a magical pairing with spicy dishes. Japanese stir-fries, Indian curies, Thai noodle bowls, Chinese dumplings, Mexican carnitas, or fiery jerk pork. All of these cuisines are perfectly suited for Riesling's sweet-laced acidity, which calms and complements all that heat.
Our love of Riesling must have shown through into our wines as this wine, along with our Dry Riesling, won double gold medals at the 2019 Colorado Governor's Cup Wine competition! Join the #RIESLINGREVIVAL.
