2024 Kick On Ranch Riesling

Kick On Ranch is, in my opinion, the top Riesling site in Santa Barbara County. It sits in Los Alamos, sandwiched between the Santa Maria Valley and the Sta. Rita Hills, where it benefits from a lot of fog, cool ocean breezes, and a long, steady growing season.

Santa Barbara has a long and checkered past with Riesling. It was one of the most popular varieties in the area during the early plantings in the 1970s. Since then much of it has been ripped out and replaced with other varieties to keep pace with fashion and market trends.

I have been producing Riesling from Kick On Ranch since 2009, and have never once been disappointed.

This Riesling was made by macerating on skins for about ten days and pumping over once a day while fermenting in a cold room at 45 degrees. When about half of the sugar had been fermented, the juice and skins were then pressed to neutral French oak to finish fermentation. The wine was aged on lees for seven months with occasional stirring.

We are releasing 2024 after more than a year of bottle aging. Riesling wines from this ranch tend to stay really primary until about one year of bottle age. At this point, they begin to develop those curiously tasty, mineral and kerosene characters unique to the varietal.

Green apples, sage and a hint of spice are all present and nicely complement that fascinating mineral character specific to Riesling. Above all else, this is a wine that speaks of texture; it is crisp, saline, fresh and steely, while simultaneously creamy, supple and generous.