The weather is warm here in my neck of the woods, so I chilled some Riesling and relaxed on the deck enjoying some good food and company. Not familiar with Riesling? Here are some “Reasons for Riesling”:
- Riesling is the world’s greatest food wine, enhancing almost every food including spicy, hot, intense and salty flavors because of its light sweetness/acid balance.
- Rieslings are unoaked allowing them to retain elegant fruity character and refreshing acidity. Enjoy!
- Number 1-selling Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Columbia Valley Riesling Vineyards are in WAshington state; known for warm days and cool nights essential to develop ripe flavors and refreshing acidity. Delicious!
- In the mid-late 1700s, European monasteries were the driving force behind Riesling cultivation and winemaking technologies (good to know when you’re enjoying a glass of Riesling with friends).
- Riesling is made in different styles from bone dry to honey sweet. Choose your style and fall in love.
I did a little research on the website of Chateau Ste Michelle and found a wonderful section named ‘My Pairings‘. I am a novice wine drinker so I don’t always know what will go best with certain foods. Thanks to the website you can either ‘start with a food’ and find a good wine or ‘start with a wine’ to help you choose your food. Fun! I decided to go with fish because my girls love tilapia so we have it weekly. I chose the Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling to go with our meal as well as a asparagus and a salad.
Dry style with fruit forward notes of white peach and apricot with a mineral finish. Delicious with seafood and poultry dishes.
This is one of my favorite meals and the wine didn’t disappoint! It was a dry wine, which is different from what I normally drink, but it tasted fabulous with my meal. My husband, who isn’t a wine drinker, tried it and liked it. He even had a second glass. I recommended this to my girlfriend to try because this wine is right up her alley. I will buy it again soon.
Next up we had some company come over and we tried the Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling.
Crisp and refreshing in the off-dry style with notes of sweet lime, peach and subtle minerality. The perfect wine for any occasion with exceptional food versatility.
A warm Friday night, some mellow music, and a nice bottle of wine. It was a great night. I could taste the fruitiness of the wine but it wasn’t as dry as the 1st bottle we had. It was very nice to drink and I could see enjoying it with a number of foods that we eat. Maybe one night I will chill another bottle and enjoy it for a “date night” with my husband when he brings home Chinese.
Lastly is the Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Sweet Riesling.
A juicy, sweeter style balanced by crisp acidity. Rich and round with ripe pear and floral notes. Excellent eith spicy foods such as Thai, Mexican, and Indian to name a few.
I made tacos. Probably not the Mexican I would have liked to pair it with but I am a mama of 3 littles and I don’t make separate meals. It was a nice wine, supper not so much. I would have liked to have had some yummy Indian food but that, unfortunately, is not a menu item at our home. One day. I believe that the Harvest Select Sweet Riesling would have complemented Indian food very well. Out of the 3 this was my favorite of the wines but any one of them would be lovely to accompany your meal or social engagement.
Chateau Ste Michelle does not just have Rieslings though. I look forward to trying many of their reds. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are right up there on my to buy list. You can find Chateau Ste Michelle wine at your local supermarket and it is very reasonably priced. The wines that I reviewed were $10 and under and the 2009 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that is on my wish list runs about $15 a bottle. If you haven’t tried a Riesling before this is the time, and the wine, to do it!
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*Jessie received the above products, free of charge, to facilitate this review. All opinions are those of reviewer only.
