Tessier Riesling, Arroyo Seco 2020 (750 ml)

Picked: 09/09/2020 at 21 brix. Direct whole cluster pressed, aged in stainless steel on the lees, native ferment, unfined and unfiltered. Pale straw color with aromas of white flowers, star fruit, guava and apricot. Minerality with lemon curd and zest on the finish. 

Grape: Riesling 

Vineyard: Zabala 

Location: Arroyo Seco

Alcohol: 12.5% ABV

Total Production: 129 cases

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Kristie Tacey, winemaker and founder of Tessier Winery, is a scientist turned winemaker. A former published research scientist who studied protein pathways, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from her native Michigan to pursue a career in biotechnology, which included working on the Human Genome Project. Kristie eventually came to realize that winemaking was her true calling and after working as operations manager and assistant winemaker at an award-winning East Bay winery, she started Tessier in 2009.

Tessier is the result of Kristie’s passion for the art and science of winemaking. She began handcrafting small lots of Pinot Noir and has added Grenache, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, Gamay Noir, Riesling, Syrah and Mourvedre. Kristie’s appreciation of French wines — especially those from Burgundy and the Loire and Rhone valleys — has shaped her winemaking choices. 

With a background in microbiology, Kristie is fascinated by the cycle of life; each vintage of Tessier wines captures and reflects one year in the lives of the vineyards she works with. She sources high-quality fruit from a strong network of farmers in the Anderson Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains, Arroyo Seco, and El Dorado foothills. She then uses minimal-interventionist winemaking techniques to showcase the unique characteristics of the grapes and the vineyards. For Kristie, sustainability is a priority — not only with the vineyards’ farming practices, but also by having long-term relationships with her growers and customers. These small production wines, an annual production of 1400 cases, get unparalleled attention.