Page 10 - The Noise November 2016

ometimes I get the uneasy feeling that my friends in the wine industry are a lot more successful than I am. I don’t really mind this; winemaking is hard work, after all, and I’m
not quite ready to make that plunge yet. But for my friends Aaron Weiss, Briana Nation and David Baird of the oDDity Wine Collective — former graduates of the Southwest Wine Center, the timing was perfect. This month they released their first three vintages at Four-Eight Wineworks in Clarkdale.
oDDity is devoted in their manifesto to “push the boundaries of the expected, and to experiment as much as our tiny budget will allow.”
These first three vintages are decidedly unique takes
on Arizona wine. All three of their releases deserve closer examinations, but since I only have room to talk about one now and Thanksgiving is coming, we’re going to focus on The Changeling.
The Changeling is a 2015 vintage blend of 76% Riesling and 24% Viognier. In fact, the name of this wine partly comes from the ‘ling’ in Riesling. This wine was made from the very first fruit that the trio received. The Viognier came from Rolling View Vineyards, while the Riesling came from the Al Buhl Memorial Vineyard, making this wine 100-percent Wilcox AVA fruit. This wine was made from the first fruit that the
trio received. The Riesling comes from one of oldest vineyards in the state; the Al Buhl
Memorial Vineyard.
The Viognier was de-stemmed prior to crushing and pressing, and fermented in a neutral French oak
barrel. The resulting wine was blended with the Riesling in
tank after fermentation. In fact, Mr. Weiss describes the rapid
fermentation of the Viognier in barrel as their first “Oh crap,
what are we doing?”
moment. The answer
is making an absolutely
lovely wine, as far as I’m concerned. The wine is a beautiful pale yellow-green in the glass.
The nose on this wine begins with a delicate side, opening with intense floral notes of iris, violets, orange blossoms,
and roses, imparted from both grapes in the blend. After swirling the wine in the glass, notes of key lime, apricot, and peach emerge from the glass. The barrel-fermentation of
the Viognier in this blend also adds a lovely light vanilla and limestone bass note, through which all the other aromas playfully intermingle. On the palate, The Changeling continues to be novel and intriguing, and is quite fruit-forward. The wine opens with notes of kiwi, key lime, peach, and apricot, with floral notes of violet and rose. This vintage is light, with a silky-smooth mouth feel. A nice kiss of acidity rounds out the palate. The finish of this wine lasts for 46 seconds, and is filled with notes of limestone, apricot, key lime and rose.
One of the reasons why The Changeling is so neat in my opinion, is that I never would have thought about blending these two varietals together. The result is a fascinating — an easy-going white blend that is going to be great for your Thanksgiving meal, whether you approach it from a turkey perspective, or a vegan perspective. Your family and in-laws who prefer the sweeter side will also enjoy this wine due to its fruit-forward palate, which will not leave your mouth as dry as Arizona in June. Be sure to grab your bottle at Four- Eight Wineworks as early as November 4. The release party promises to be a lot of fun, so endeavor to be there. Also make sure to check out their other two wines which are both red blends: the SGZ and Unsanctioned. I look forward with great joy to seeing what this new label will produce!
10 • NOVEMBER 2016