2018 “Sunrise Over Skin” Kick On Ranch Vineyard Skin Contact Riesling - J. Brix Wines

Fresh apricot, flower pollen, golden delicious apple. Canned peach, candied ginger, dried mango slice. Bright honeysuckle and plumeria, white pepper and celery salt. Cantaloupe, candied lime, and Bartlett pear erupt in a juicy and succulent fruit-focused attack, not slowed in the slightest by complicating notes of beeswax and hints of spice. Tropical flowers inject pronounced aromatic sweetness and lift while notes of sawdust, yeast, and cellar funk reveal an interesting natural twist. Dry, chewy, and surprisingly grippy on the palate, sitting at medium in body with moderate tannin and acidity. Wild, raw, playful, and unconventional. This 2018 "Sunrise Over Skin" Kick On Ranch Vineyard Skin Contact Riesling by J. Brix Wines is a bold and unique orange natural wine from Santa Barbara County.

While Riesling is traditionally made in a plethora of distinct styles, extended skin contact during fermentation is not a commonly seen winemaking technique for this classic light-skinned grape. This bottling, crafted by J. Brix Wines using Riesling sourced from the Kick On Ranch Vineyard and fermented on its skins, takes an ancient grape and presents it in a new and interesting light. This wine possesses pronounced tropical aromatics and intense depth of fruit that overshadows some of this variety's more typical petrol notes, yet it is still identifiable thanks to unmistakable Riesling character. Its tannic backbone and mouthfilling texture provide quite a surprise on the palate and impart roundness and body where lean crispness might otherwise dominate. This is a well made and interesting wine that we discovered thanks to our friends at Rae Vino.