2022 Ashanta 'Encantado' Riesling

‘Encantado’ comes from the southernmost vineyard we worked with in 2022 just 5.5 miles from the U.S./Mexican border. Dulzura, CA is located in the lower Peninsular Range Region in San Diego County, situated at about 1,800 feet elevation. It is surrounded by steep mountains covered in granite boulders and chaparral vegetation. The marble, slates, schist and quartzites soils come from the cooling of molten magmas within the earth’s crust, some 120-90 million years ago. The magmas were created during a convergence of the subduction of an oceanic crustal plate and the North American plate, and over millions of years masses of volcanic rocks accumulating in the earth’s crust metamorphosed the sedimentary rocks already present. A distinctly ancient region in terms of human existence, Dulzura’s soils reveal a geology of the Earth, and we were able to capture a tiny glimpse of that through the making of Enctando who’s vines’ roots were immersed in these primordial soils.

 Dulzura has a 30+ degree diurnal shift and the Pacific Ocean breeze consistently blows through the region, keeping the vines cool in the heat of summer. The Riesling was hand harvested by crew, Chenoa and Will in August of 2022. Foot tread and left to soak for 24 hours for light skin contact before being pressed, settled and spontaneous fermented in stainless for two weeks, then finished in french neutral Oak. Racked twice and aged in barrel for 12 months with an additional year in bottle before release