Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling at the Richmond Jazz Festival

Yesterday hubby and I attended the Richmond Jazz Festival* at Maymont.  We arrived around 1PM, survived the humidity and the rain, and had a fantastic time. We spent most of our time near the Virginia is for Lovers stage. There was lots of great music. We particularly enjoyed Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. Check these guys out if you have the chance.

Tucked in among the vendors Chateau Ste. Michelle had set up The Reason for Riesling Tent, pouring three different Riesling styles from the Washington State producer. All were from the 2011 harvest and ranged from dry to sweet.

First up we tasted the Dry Riesling. With the very first sip we felt a tongue tingling effervescence. Apple dominated this Riesling, thus, even though this wine was dry, it had enough fruit to please the palate. This wine would be a great base for a white wine sangria. It would also be a nice accompaniment to shrimp or scallops.

The next wine was the Columbia Valley Riesling. This medium-dry offering sported a heavier mouth-feel and reminded us of the weight of an Alsatian Riesling. We picked up apricot essences. Because of the weight of the wine, this turned out to be our favorite of the three.

We could see ourselves sipping this on a warm afternoon or enjoying with a roasted chicken and sauteed green beans. It would also pair well with some of the food offerings from the Jazz Festival vendors like Chef Mamusu and the Curry Fried Lake Trout with Jollof Rice, Greens and Cornbread.

The last wine tasted was the Harvest Select Sweet Riesling. Lower in alcohol (10%) and definitely sweeter than the first two Rieslings. However, not cloying sweet like some dessert wines. This wine which showed some hints of peach was the crowd favorite and would be a good choice for folks who prefer non-dry wine styles. We could envision the multitude of pairing possibilities: spicy food, macerated peaches, or cheesecake.

All three were delightfully quaffable. Summer is a great season to enjoy Rieslings, including the variety from Chateau Ste. Michelle.

*Full disclosure here: I was contacted by a social media marketing company and asked if I would be willing to review the three Chateau Ste. Michelle Rieslings at the Richmond Jazz Festival. In order to taste the wines, we were provided passes to the Festival. We truly enjoyed tasting the wines.  We also really appreciated the incredibly talented musicians at the Festival.