The Sunnyside Vineyard was established near the Salem I-5 corridor in 1971. The site was settled and has been farmed by Tom Owen and Luci Wisniewski since 1980. The block is planted to the Geisenheim Riesling clone 90. It is farmed by hand with multiple passes of leaf thinning and green harvest. The fruiting canes are trained with so-called Pendelbogen arches, and the canopy is permitted to drape down over the clusters, particularly is hot years such as this. The vineyard additionally raises Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Dolcetto and a few other surprises. It is a lovely place.
Riesling is THE varietal that rocked my boat in 2001 when I first tasted its expression from the Oregon soils. I find that white wines, and Riesling in particular, are beautifully transparent in their reflection of the site and the winemaker, in a way that reds can never be - cloaked warmly as they are in their skin contact and their barrel aging. Everything has its place and time. Now is the time for vineyard-specific Oregon Riesling...and here it is!
WINE & Spririts
published August 2021 issue
92 pts. Love & Squalor
2016 Willamette Valley Sunnyside Vineyard Riesling: From a parcel planted in 1971, this wine's scents of lees and lime fruit feel slow to rouse. The wines' texture has an old-vine feel, dry but unctuous, like lime oil, with sneaky acids and a wheat savor to the finish. - P.J.C. (25 cases)
VINOUS
published sept 2020
91 pts. Love & Squalor 2016 Riesling Sunnyside Vineyard
Willamette Valley, Oregon
White wine from United States
Drinking window: 2020 - 2025
Brilliant straw. Bright and piercing on the nose, displaying an array of fresh citrus fruit and floral scents and a strong mineral topnote. Racy and precise on the palate, offering nervy lemon zest, green apple and bitter quince flavors that very slowly unfurl on the back half. Shows firm cut and mineral lift on a long, penetrating finish that leaves a suave honeysuckle note behind.
Josh Raynolds. Tasting date: March 2020