Ser is an artisanal winery based out of Santa Cruz, CA, committed to preserving the “Being” of wine, producing wines that allow the wine to truly express the varieties and vineyards they are sourced from. Ser Winery is committed to producing varietal, vineyard-designate, old-world style wines.
Bright citrus (lime, lemon blossom), orchard fruits (pear, nectarine, green melon), and a hint of tropical pineapple, balanced by surprising richness and minerality from the Wirz Vineyard’s old vines, all presented in a completely dry, crisp, and refreshing sparkling style with persistent bubbles and a long, clean finish.
Riesling
Ser Sparkling Riesling (100% Riesling) sourced from the historic Wirz Vineyard located in Cienega Valley on the Eastern side of the Gabilan Mountain Range. The vineyard sits at approximately 1000 ft elevation, providing a cool climate with delayed bud break and late harvests. Decomposed granite and limestone soils. 60-year-old, head-trained vines, dry-farmed, organically farmed.
Winemaking: Destemmed and pressed to stainless steel tank. Cool fermentation and no malolactic fermentation. The Sparkling is made in the traditional Champagne method and spent ~18 months en tirage. Very small dosage ~ 0.3 g/L.
Specs
Alcohol: 12.5%
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling, Wirz Vineyard, Cienega Valley Case:
12x 2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling, Wirz Vineyard, Cienega Valley
“My winemaking philosophy involves minimal intervention, allowing the wine to express itself and where it comes from.” Owner, winemaker, Nicole Walsh
Ser is an artisanal winery based out of Santa Cruz, CA, specializing in varietal, vineyard-designate, old-world style wines, produced in a natural way to allow the expression of their varietal character and the vineyards from which they are sourced.
Ser began its first vintage in 2012 with wines sourced from vineyards influenced by the Pacific Ocean. Cool climate, central coast vineyards, including the appellations of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Cienega Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands, and, more recently, Edna Valley, are the primary sources of fruit.
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Riesling is the (almost) forgotten base of good sparkling wine. In Europe, when well-made, German Riesling based Sekt can be very good - different from Pinot and Chardonnay based Champagne and not reaching quite the heights of Champagne, but lovely and charming.
In California, Riesling figured in a number of middling-to-good sparklers for many years. Hans Kornell made a Riesling based sparkler that was considered among the top CA sparklers up through the ‘60s and early ‘70s, though the increasing quality of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based California sparklers left Kornell in the dust as the clientele used to Riesling sparklers aged out, tastes shifted, and the French Champagne houses started taking California seriously and founded daughter houses in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling - $50 = 22.22%
@InFrom Can I desperately hope that it’s dry “for a reisling” ? !? I guess I can cancel my order. I think I have a coupon somewhere I forgot to use anyway.
@whitelightertre Are you still within the cancellation window? You should probably cancel, do some reading, and then you can always reorder, this isn’t going to sell out quickly, from the looks of things.
@sarahaha@whitelightertre I understand why there’s a widespread perception that Riesling = sweet. Often it is, even some labeled “Dry Riesling”. But Riesling can be made in many styles – it’s a wonderful rabbit hole to fall into.
@InFrom@sarahaha Thank you so much guys! I was in the window and cancelled already, but the follow up comments from people who know more than me are so helpful! I loved woot, then meh, and when casemates came around I knew I wanted to kickstart it and keep a place for the nice community of lush people. Maybe it’s the holidays, maybe it’s the gummy i had yesterday not being out of my system, but I’m feeling very good and effusive today.
@InFrom@sarahaha@whitelightertre yeah, 3 g/l dosage is into extra brut territory. But the fruitiness of Riesling can have a perception of sweetness absent sugar.
Thanks for the opportunity to labrat! We both enjoyed this wine and had never had a dry sparkling Riesling before. I found this to be crisp and light bodied with strong tropical fruit aromas. Flavor was tart with notes of citrus/pineapple and a clean finish with a little minerality.
I came back to say that I had not read the description of the wine until after I posted this review and I totally agree with the tasting notes above! I would be curious to know any recommended food pairings - we tried it with marinated grilled pork loin and roasted vegetables but the wine was much better on its own.
@sarahaha I’d have something like this with well spiced but not necessarily super hot food. I find that hot-spicy food needs a bit more sugar like you’d get in a traditional spätlese or even a kabinett, although the latter may be outmatched by the flavour intensity.
You could probably also have this with a creamy pasta with shrimp or the like. Or something like a chicken piccata.
I’m -this- close to pulling the trigger on a 4-pack. As it happens, we’re opening a bottle of Riesling bubbles from the FL this evening. Don’t I have a duty to replenish?
Seeing a winemaker I’ve heard of from Berserker Day always gets my antennae up.
2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling, Cienega Valley
Tasting Notes
Riesling
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
not for sale on winery website, $480/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Tuesday, Jan 20
2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling
4 bottles for $74.99 $18.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $174.99 $14.58/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
We had a bottle of this, probably a prior vintage, and enjoyed it. Would have to check CT for more info…
Riesling is the (almost) forgotten base of good sparkling wine. In Europe, when well-made, German Riesling based Sekt can be very good - different from Pinot and Chardonnay based Champagne and not reaching quite the heights of Champagne, but lovely and charming.
In California, Riesling figured in a number of middling-to-good sparklers for many years. Hans Kornell made a Riesling based sparkler that was considered among the top CA sparklers up through the ‘60s and early ‘70s, though the increasing quality of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based California sparklers left Kornell in the dust as the clientele used to Riesling sparklers aged out, tastes shifted, and the French Champagne houses started taking California seriously and founded daughter houses in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.
So, this is intriguing and worth a look!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling - $50 = 22.22%
Sweet? Sparkling? Sold! Thank you!
@whitelightertre Sparkling yes, sweet not. From the description:
@InFrom Can I desperately hope that it’s dry “for a reisling” ? !?
I guess I can cancel my order. I think I have a coupon somewhere I forgot to use anyway.
@whitelightertre Are you still within the cancellation window? You should probably cancel, do some reading, and then you can always reorder, this isn’t going to sell out quickly, from the looks of things.
@whitelightertre More from the description:
@InFrom @whitelightertre I would not describe it as sweet at all. It does have fruity notes and a juicy tropical aroma but it is a dry wine
@sarahaha @whitelightertre I understand why there’s a widespread perception that Riesling = sweet. Often it is, even some labeled “Dry Riesling”. But Riesling can be made in many styles – it’s a wonderful rabbit hole to fall into.
@InFrom @sarahaha Thank you so much guys! I was in the window and cancelled already, but the follow up comments from people who know more than me are so helpful! I loved woot, then meh, and when casemates came around I knew I wanted to kickstart it and keep a place for the nice community of lush people. Maybe it’s the holidays, maybe it’s the gummy i had yesterday not being out of my system, but I’m feeling very good and effusive today.
@sarahaha @whitelightertre
@InFrom @sarahaha @whitelightertre yeah, 3 g/l dosage is into extra brut territory. But the fruitiness of Riesling can have a perception of sweetness absent sugar.
Rats?
@FritzCat I’d love to see one! I’m tempted, but with no info, hesitant.
Thanks for the opportunity to labrat! We both enjoyed this wine and had never had a dry sparkling Riesling before. I found this to be crisp and light bodied with strong tropical fruit aromas. Flavor was tart with notes of citrus/pineapple and a clean finish with a little minerality.
I came back to say that I had not read the description of the wine until after I posted this review and I totally agree with the tasting notes above! I would be curious to know any recommended food pairings - we tried it with marinated grilled pork loin and roasted vegetables but the wine was much better on its own.
@sarahaha I’d have something like this with well spiced but not necessarily super hot food. I find that hot-spicy food needs a bit more sugar like you’d get in a traditional spätlese or even a kabinett, although the latter may be outmatched by the flavour intensity.
You could probably also have this with a creamy pasta with shrimp or the like. Or something like a chicken piccata.
I’m -this- close to pulling the trigger on a 4-pack. As it happens, we’re opening a bottle of Riesling bubbles from the FL this evening. Don’t I have a duty to replenish?
Seeing a winemaker I’ve heard of from Berserker Day always gets my antennae up.
Inching ever closer…
@InFrom ~that’s~ why this sounded familiar
@InFrom @rjquillin that’s where I got the bottles I tried earlier.
I had no illusions about how this would end.
/giphy shimmering-fancy-angel