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Rallison Cellars 2012 Janice Vineyard Riesling
“When Pigs Fly!”
Jared Rallison’s friends and family were utterly incredulous when they heard he wanted to be a winemaker. More than one said, “When pigs fly!” when he told them of his dream.
After all, he lived in Utah, had a full-time job as a pharmaceutical executive, and was the father of three young girls. When pigs fly, indeed.
But dreams don’t die.
After trying and failing to make wine in Utah, Jared and his family moved to Sherwood, Oregon, and found a place to plant some grapes. After much trial and error, Jared Rallison’s dream is alive and well.
Today, Rallison Cellars is a small but amazing little label – producing less than 800 cases a year, almost all sold on-site and to wine club members.
Jared is still working in the pharmaceutical industry, but his crisp, clean whites and big, juicy reds are attracting attention and winning awards.
In recognition of the challenges they’ve overcome, his wife Lari gave him a flying pig weathervane to put atop the winery built next to the Rallison family home.
And just a few weeks before we first visited in November 2014, a huge windstorm came through – and the pig was ripped from the roof, took flight, and landed in the vineyard.
When pigs fly!
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Rallison Cellars, Sherwood, Oregon
2012 Janice Vineyard Riesling
Tell a friend that you’re opening a Riesling, and odds are good that they’ll turn up their nose. Here’s what I say: You gotta try it before you knock it.
The Rallison 2012 Janice Vineyard Riesling is not your grandmother’s cloyingly sweet wine. Rather, it is a stellar example of what the grape can be when you treat it right. This dry Riesling is a clear, crisp expression of fruit with strong citrus and green apple notes.
Rallison’s Riesling has a brightness and depth of flavor that becomes clear when you learn that he mixed in the lees (leftover yeast) from his Chardonnay and Viognier to soften the acidity. That unconventional approach gives Cellar 503 members an eminently drinkable white wine that will surprise folks that usually dismiss Riesling.
A Cellar 503 selection in December 2014, Our Inaugural Selection Willamette Valley | Riesling
