# Black Sheep Riesling (2018)

- **Producer:** Featherstone Estate Winery
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Riesling
- **Region:** Niagara Peninsula, Canada
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 10.1%
- **Average price:** €14
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 8–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lime, grapefruit, apple, pear, peach, apricot, ginger, blossom, petrol, kerosene, honey

## About this wine

Featherstone Estate Winery is situated on the rolling hills of the Upper Twenty Mile Bench within Ontario's Niagara Peninsula. Established as a benchmark producer of high-quality cool-climate wines, the estate is renowned for its eco-friendly and sustainable viticultural practices. To manage the vineyard canopy naturally, Featherstone employs young lambs to eat the lower leaves, exposing the grapes to optimal sunlight. Additionally, they utilize sustainable falconry to deter pest birds, creating a unique harmony between agriculture and nature.

## Interesting facts

- Featherstone is the first Canadian winery to use young lambs for natural canopy management, as they eat leaves but ignore the sour green grapes.
- The winery employs eco-friendly falconry, flying a trained raptor named Amadeus to protect ripe grapes from starlings.
- The wine is clarified using plant-derived vegetable gelatin and bentonite clay, making it 100% vegan-friendly.

## Food pairing

The high acidity and off-dry sweetness of this Riesling make it an exceptional partner for spicy and aromatic dishes, as the residual sugar tames the heat while the vibrant acidity cuts through fat and cleanses the palate. It also pairs beautifully with salty, tangy elements like goat cheese or smoked fish, creating a balanced sweet-and-savory harmony.

## Wine making process

The 2018 Black Sheep Riesling was crafted from handpicked estate grapes to ensure clean, whole-berry pressing. The juice underwent immediate flotation in stainless steel tanks using plant-derived vegetable gelatin rather than animal-derived fining agents. Fermentation was carried out at a cool 13°C using commercial yeast strain X5 to preserve fresh aromatics. The fermentation was cold-arrested to retain 20 g/L of natural residual sugar, balancing the high acidity. The wine was aged on its fine lees in stainless steel for one month, bentonited, and cold-settled before bottling.