Harvest
All the grapes for the Ridgepoint Wines 2003 Riesling Off-Dry were harvested from our escarpment estate Cherry Avenue vineyards on October 31, 2003 at 21.6° Brix.

Winemaking
As with our dry Riesling, the grapes for the Ridgepoint Wines 2003 Riesling Off-Dry were crushed and destemmed, then cold-settled for 24 hours in stainless steel tanks. The juice was inoculated with a yeast strain cultured to retain varietal flavours and add a softer mouthfeel, and cool-fermented at 12-14°C to retain aromatics.

Analysis

Alcohol/Volume: 12.5%	Residual sugar: < 25 g/L
Dryness (Sugar code): 3

Winemaker's notes
The Hummer-driving set might call this a 'Girlie Riesling' (as if there was something bad about that). Pale green-gold Riesling colours shine from this wine, and a lovely, luscious, lifted aromas of ripe honeydew melon, lime zest, and banana vamp their way from the glass. All served on a slight biscuit note. Sweetness in the foretaste is neatly balanced with an acid tang at the end. The 2003 Ridgepoint Off-Dry Riesling makes an ideal sipping wine, or one to enjoy with a desert such as lemon meringue pie. This is a sociable, civilized Riesling.

Food pairings
Ridgepoint Wines 2003 Riesling Off-Dry will be an elegant companion to Cracked Crab and Honeydew Salad (see Tony Aspler and Kathleen Sloan, The Wine Lover Cooks, Macmillan Canada), or almost anything you might want to put between layers of phyllo pastry. And of course, you could just toy with the food and sip this wine by itself.