Producer: Charles Smith Wines

Grapes: 100% Riesling

Appellation: Columbia Valley (though from a single vineyard; see below)

Vineyard: Evergreen Vineyard, a 452 acre vineyard planted to 10 different white varieties and farmed by Milbrandt Vineyards. It is rather young, having been planted in 1998. The vineyard currently falls under the large Columbia Valley AVA, but is a part of the “Ancient Lakes” area, which is seeking AVA status. Ancient Lakes is a cooler region with soils of clay, sand, silt and Caliche.

Winemaking: 100% stainless steel fermentation and aging

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $11.77

Package: Kick-ass label. Screwcap.

My tasting notes: A slight spritz. Bright green apple and pear aromas on the nose with a waxy quality. Round, luscious mouthfeel yet with lively, zippy acidity. Makes me think of Clearly Canadian sparkling water from back in the 90s, if they made an apple and kiwi flavor. (I mean that as a complement – I loved Clearly Canadian back then, especially Mountain Blackberry and Western Loganberry flavors.)

Overall impression: A very enjoyable drink. A crowd-pleaser for your next party. Hell, I might pick up another bottle to have on hand for Thanksgiving. B

Free Association: I loved playing this game at the bowling alley arcade I was a kid.

More info:

Winery’s tech sheet.

Good info on the Ancient Lakes region from the Millbrandt Vineyards website.

Jeff at Viva La Wino reviewed this wine earlier this year and liked it, too.

Gary V. had Charles Smith on WLTV last year and they tasted the 2007 Kung Fu Girl.

Update: Found another blogger review from Ben at Benito’s Wine Reviews.