Recommendation: Recommended as a buy.
Winery/Producer: Shelton vineyards; Dobson, North Carolina.
Grape Variety: Riesling.
Geographic Origin: Yadkin Valley; North Carolina.
Vintage: 2011.
Price: $12.00
Purchased From: Village Tavern; Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Pared With: 1st Tasting:
Chocolate Mousse (Desert with steak and Cabernet dinner). 2nd Tasting: Thai chicken (medium spicy but not hot), rice pilaf and peas.
Tasting:
He said: 1st Tasting: Pretty good Riesling. Very light yellow color. Sweet bouquet, smooth fruity taste that finishes with a long fruity flavor. With the chocolate mousse it was simply great.
2nd Tasting: Faint floral bouquet. Soft sweet taste that continues into a medium length finish. This Riesling was PERFECT with this dinner and I would give this a strong buy recommendation. Smooth, creamy, and sweet, but with just enough acid in the finish to make it a very pleasant Riesling.
She said: 1st Tasting: Were not into sweet wines; however, this was between sweet and medium dry and the fruity taste was perfect with the chocolate mousse. And because it was fruity, not overly sweet or heavy, it made a great ending for a delicious dinner.
2nd Tasting: Great wine with this dinner. I am usually put off by any sweet wine but not with this one. The label indicates that it is very slightly sweet (and I agree) which is perhaps why it is good with the peanut sauce that is made with salsa. The lack of bouquet is disappointing but the light body, tasty flavor, smoothness, and soothing finish are a plus. At $12 I would recommend it for a dinner like this one. Personally, it is too sweet for me to be a candidate for a sipping wine. I look forward to another bottle of this when I make Thai chicken again. I might even heat up the spices to see if the wine could stand up to the dinner. After dinner the appeal of the wine faded and the sweetness became an issue.
Comments: 1st Tasting: This is a very nice award winning North Carolina Riesling. Although we do not recommend it as a “Bargain Wine” it’s good and we have several bottles in the cellar.
2nd Tasting:This pairing was so good the wine just made the dinner. We are changing our recommendation from Not Recommended to Recommended as a buy.
Bar code: 688589000231