Kinkead Ridge Spring Release

To end the holiday weekend yesterday we drove to Ripley, Ohio for the release of the 2012 white wines by Kinkead Ridge.  That they were able to release three white wines from such a dismal year for white grapes was remarkable, but it did require some adjustments to the usual line up.  Two of the three wines were released on a second label, River Village Cellars, because they contained grapes not grown in the KR vineyard. 

Only the Viognier Roussanne was released on the primary label and for this vintage the mixture was 68% Roussanne and 32% Viognier.  The blend is usually higher in Viognier than Roussanne (2011 being 77% Viognier).  There were great aromas of citrus peel, honeysuckle, and super ripe melons.  This was a full bodied wine with orange and light tropical fruit flavors and crisp acid to hold it together.  It's still a unique and pleasant wine.  14.8% alcohol, $17, and 91 cases produced. 

There was no white Revelation this year, instead there was a River Village white wine.  This wine is proof of how bad the vintage was for white grapes.  The wine is about 70+% Seyval, a hybrid grape not normally used here.  It was purchased and used for this vintage so that there would be wine available for sale. The rest was what the estate vineyard gave them, a little chardonnay, some sauvignon blanc, a little albarino and some semillon.  Crisp, sharp, and light with aromas and taste of grapefruit and herbs.  Medium bodied wine that just cries out to be chilled and poured on the patio on a spring evening.  Simple and direct and rather tasty.  13.3% alcohol.  $10.  160 cases.

The third wine was the biggest surprise to me in that it is a wine that I don't usually care for, Traminette on the River Village Cellars label.  This is another hybrid that has Gewurztraminer as one of its parents.  I have always found its flavors of ripe fruit and spices to be too agressive and a little funky.  This year it was toned down with the addition of the estate grown riesling and that had to be what made the difference.  It's still spicy with bits of nutmeg and cloves in the nose, but the riesling seems to balance out this vintage.  Definitely a wine for some spicy Asian food, and early this fall it will get a workout with a roasted pig and a spicy, Jamaican jerk sauce served on the side.  12.4% alcohol.  2.1% residual sugar.  $10 and 99 cases produced.

Al together - not the best whites I've had from Kinkead Ridge but considering the vintage the wines are not only easily drinkable they are still delicious.