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SommSelect

Stirm, “Wirz Vineyard” Old Vine Riesling

Other, United States 2016 (750mL)
$30.00
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SommSelect

Stirm, “Wirz Vineyard” Old Vine Riesling

In the western reaches of California’s San Benito County, at the convergence of two tectonic plates and perched at about 1,000 feet in the Gabilan Mountains, vines planted in 1965 by Pat Wirz are still producing fruit. Dry farmed for 54 years and thus treated to a drink of water only when it rains, they offer up less than one ton of grapes per acre today. But if you’re expecting the punchline to be about ancient-vine Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, guess again. No, the Wirz Vineyard, in the Cienega Valley, is home to winemaker Ryan Stirm’s most prized asset: old-vine Riesling.
If you haven’t yet experienced Stirm’s bone-dry Riesling from this special vineyard, don’t worry: You’re not alone. He generally makes about five barrels of Wirz, and his mailing list buys four. We are offering the last barrel of the 2016 to help you get acquainted. For me, this is the top of the pyramid for California Riesling and a wine that rivals some of Austria’s greats in its combination of profound depth and racy refreshment—proof that a keen understanding of terroir, in capable hands, can yield a white of ‘Grand Cru’ dimensions at an everyday price. In the five years since we founded SommSelect, you can count on one hand the number of times we’ve offered a California Riesling, and two of those have been from Ryan Stirm—a wine fanatic who loves three things: Riesling, terroir, and natural farming. He’s on a mission to “pioneer the new age of California Riesling,” and while that’s a bold statement, it’s one he and his team can back up. Taste this wine and you’ll agree.
Before setting up his own winery in 2013, Ryan gained experience by working with Austria’s Tegernseerhof and California’s Tyler—two producers that have been featured multiple times on SommSelect. It should be noted that while Ryan does produce other wines, he is a die-hard Riesling fan dead set on bringing pure California expressions into the international spotlight. He was bred for this, too: Ryan’s studies at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo concluded with degrees in both viticulture and enology while minoring in soil science and sustainable agriculture. After years of training and traveling around the globe, he set up shop in a repurposed warehouse on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. 

Situated 25 miles east of Monterey Bay, the Wirz Vineyard is a bit of an anomaly. Any influence from the chilly Pacific Ocean is dampened by the higher mountain terrain, creating a unique microclimate where Riesling thrives (a fact that has also attracted Morgan Twain Peterson of Bedrock). also buys fruit from Wirz). 54-year-old, dry-farmed vines spider deep into sandy granitic loam and clay-limestone soils in search of nutrients. These gnarly vines are naturally low yielding, producing supremely concentrated grapes that ripen late and thus retain their high natural acidity.

The 2016 growing season ushered in an average year, with cool nights, and a heat-spike in early September, just as grapes were harvested—by hand. About 1% of clusters infected with botrytis (noble rot) were retained, adding marvelous honeyed and bergamot floral notes. After 24 hours of whole-cluster maceration with skin contact to extract complex flavors and aromas, the grapes were pressed to tank, and aged on the fine lees, racked and bottled unfined and unfiltered. 

In the glass, Stirm’s 2016 Riesling from Wirz Vineyard shows a brilliant straw core with green hues and accented silver reflections moving out to the rim. It has a wonderfully fresh nose, full of green apple, citrus blossoms, and stony minerality as the wine opens up. Expect further notes of meyer lemon, white peach skin, candied lime, crushed rock, sea spray, fresh white flowers, grapefruit zest, honeydew blossoms, and a subtle presence of white pepper. The palate reveals a medium-bodied wine that is bone dry through and through; there is no presence of residual sugar here (.2 grams per liter for you wine techies). It’s a well-rounded wine that has a strong acidic foundation which directly correlates with its superb freshness. This is a “drink now” wine, not because it won’t hold up for several years—it will—but because it is so enjoyable right out of the bottle. Pour into all-purpose white or Riesling stems and serve around 45-50 degrees. Stirm’s Riesling is not afraid of air, so take your time enjoying this one. Pair it with the attached grapefruit and avocado fish taco recipe incorporating the freshest and flakiest fish you can find. Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
Other
Sub-Region
United StatesCienega Valley
Soil
Sandy, Granitic Loam
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Riesling 100%
Alcohol
12.7
OAK
None
TEMP.
45-50
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2020
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Fish Tacos

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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