Best Buy! Growers and winemakers in the Snake River Valley of Idaho persevered during the 2017 vintage in the aftermath of the January killing freeze, which exacted a heavy toll. Riesling blocks in the Symms plantings near Ste. Chapelle also felt the sting, so production of this popular came in less than half of the 2016 vintage, but Boise native Meredith Smith brought this home in line with the “sweet” range of the International Riesling Foundation’s Taste Profile Scale. That’s around 7 percent residual sugar. Idaho’s natural acidity provides plenty of balance to the aromas and flavors of spearmint, Uncola and jasmine, leading to a rather pleasing off-dry finish of peach and apricot. Suggested pairings include carrot cake, angel food cake, fresh fruit and spicy fare.
Rating: Excellent
Production: 3,032 cases
Alcohol: 12.5%
We lived in Idaho from 1981 to 1990 we were at Mountain Home Air Force Base, we liked the special harvest wine I can’t remember the name, it was a sweet wine and we really liked it, I have never seen any since we left there, could you suggest a good sweet wine for us?
Greetings, Linda Lou.
Ste. Chapelle still produces that wine, and some of those wines made by my friend Meredith Smith enjoy national distribution. My point is that you might be able to find a recent vintage depending upon where you live.
https://stechapelle.orderport.net/wines/product-search
Another stellar wine made in a similar style is the Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Sweet Riesling. It’s unclear to me if they are bottling an example from the 2021 vintage, but the 2020 will be deliciously sweet yet balanced.
https://www.wine.com/product/chateau-ste-michelle-harvest-select-sweet-riesling-2020/757186?state=CA&s=GoogleBase_CSE_757186_PS106__type_Wine_WhiteWine_Riesling&showpromo=true&promo=PS106®ion_id=000009&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Google_Shopping_Smart_Wine&gclid=CjwKCAiAx8KQBhAGEiwAD3EiP_6yr0y3NuzRAfQ_VAJYgfllbD1D624qobsy5LsSoqpvxINBlWsMtRoCGSAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#
There’s also the Eroica Gold program.
https://www.ste-michelle.com/chateau-ste-michelle/wine-shop/eroica/2019-eroica-gold-riesling/5637254083.p
Cheers,
Eric