Ojai, Kick On Ranch Riesling Santa Barbara 2015

I got the idea that it would be fun to make dry Riesling from northern Santa Barbara County. When I started out in the wine biz I met an old timer who thought the Los Alamos area was perfect for Riesling, but unfortunately the marketplace wasn’t interested and most of it got grafted over to other varieties. So I went driving around looking for a lost Riesling vineyard and bumped into Kick On Ranch in 2007. The rest is history and even our first one from that year is still drinking well.

Adam Tolmach, a viticulture and oenology graduate of UC Davis, started the now infamous winery with fellow employee Jim Clendenen in 1982, Au Bon Climat. After nine years together Jim and Adam decided to follow separate paths.

Having planted his own vineyard in Ojai in 1983 (The Ojai Vineyard), Adam decided to concentrate his efforts there. Experimenting with new plantings, new areas, and a wide selection of varietals. Adam set his intention to strive to make the very best wines possible, through quality and unique sites over quantity and mass-produced blends. 

It took some 10 years to produce really exceptional, consistently delicious fruit. Adam took steps to convert the farming from sustainable to organic practices whilst fine tuning the winemaking process to as natural as possible; minimal use of sulphites, avoiding fining and filtration, also reducing new oak usage as much as possible.

Adam's influence in the region and the respect from his peers is worth mentioning, where some sites are exclusive to their owners, often Adam will be one of the very few with privileged access, examples being Puerta del Mar (Jonata) and White Hawk (Sine Qua Non).