Based on a ringing endorsement in the form of a Tom Hill tasting note (here: TN: Two Ojai Whites.....(short/boring) ), I bought a few of the 2021 Ojai Kick-On Ranch Riesling and really enjoyed it. I don’t drink much CA Riesling, but this thread and the wine Tom turned me onto makes it something I might look to more often.
Smith Madrone makes a great Riesling and I would highly suggest a visit to the winery. Beautiful wines and views
Brandon,
I would also highly recommend the Bedrock Rieslings, from Wirz & Cole Ranch.
Tom
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I had the 2016 S-M riesling within the past couple of weeks and it was in a great place.
I have a 2021 Ojai that I’m looking to age a bit and compare to some other Kick-On Ranch producers from the same vintage. I had a 2013 Ojai Riesling a few months ago (which I somehow forgot to review, alas) that was pretty solid, but maybe had been out a bit too long. I don’t have a good sense quite yet of what California Rieslings will age well (though the texture of the Smith-Madrone made me think it would be good to have 5-10 years of age on it, as another post notes), so I’d love to hear others’ experiences.
I also have a bottle of the 2021 Ojai “Ice” wine that I suspect will need a lot more time. There aren’t too many non-Anderson Valley late harvest Rieslings out there in CA, but I’d be interested in more if any solid ones exist.
Going over last years sales numbers for DTC, I can see that the Rieslings (especially the “Bund”) was a pretty good seller. We almost by rote as winemakers revert to “Riesling is impossible to sell”, but it’s actually not entirely borne out in the numbers. However, to distributors, it is still a bit of a harder sell - so it seem that on the wine shop floor/restaurant this is still a challenge. Tells me that those who buy DTC are often in “the know” about Riesling and open to the variety.
Slowest seller of the whites has been the Chardonnay, surprisingly. Whodathunk? But it is from Lodi and I’ll freely admit it won’t challenge Ceritas best for the top spot in a competition. Still, a decent little everyday Chard. A winemaker I know said that particularly for Chardonnay in the DTC realm, many distrust lower priced Chards from anything but the most prestigious AVA’s. Maybe there’s something to his point. Or maybe they just hate it 
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The best of the Calif Rieslings can often develop that gout de petrol aromas with age. Particularly from great R vnyds. Like McFadden/ColeRanch/Enz. I don’t get to too much in Adam’s Rieslings, though. Not sure why.
Tom
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Probably because Adam’s oldest riesling is only from 2019!