Brix at harvest 21
Analysis at bottling pH 2.72
TA 9.8 g/L,
Alcohol 11%, RS 1.07%

Description
Foris wines are dened by the uniqueness of the Illinois Valley, home to our estate vineyards and winery. A part of the western most reaches of Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley Appellation, the valley is distinctive in its alpine attributes. Having been grape growers for over thirty-eight years, we have found that Alsace white varieties are especially well suited to our microclimate. As with all great vineyards the world over, our wine style is a reection of the nature of our vineyards. We strive for a purity of fruit and concentration of avors that result from all of our hard work in the vineyards. e 2011 vintage was one of the coolest and latest in our history and going into September it was a bit unnerving. While we always look forward to a cool growing season, this one put us to the test. We made several extra passes through the vineyards dropping excessive clusters to enhance ripening. Mother Nature smiled upon us with a warm and sunny September, giving us hope. October came through with unusually good weather and fall frosts did not arrive until well into November, a couple of weeks later than usual. For most vintages we start harvesting the last week of September. In 2011 we waited until mid October to achieve fully ripened fruit, and then it was a race to get it all before the weather turned. Our Estate Riesling is harvested at the tail end of harvest almost every vintage. We usually have a few ts of rain in early September and October…just enough to get botrytis started. Dry weather followed to allow the noble rot to work its magic upon the berries, shriveling them, concentrating the sugars and acids as well as imparting a distinctive apricot aroma and avor prole. About 10-15% of the clusters were botrytis aected in 2011, providing added depth and richness to our drier style of Riesling. While one percent residual sugar may sound sweet, the high acidity provides an illusion of dryness. Aromas of peach, apricot, wildowers and honey transition to avors of Granny Smith apple, kumquat and nectarine with a streak of steely acidity. Riesling is one of the world’s great and surprising white wines in that it is enjoyable in its youth and can stand the test of time. While pleasurable upon release in the summer of 2012, this wine may be able to age gracefully in the bottle for many years.