In a nutshell:

  • Produces fruity off-dry late harvest wines and sweet dessert wines called Icewine
  • Drink young

Where it is primarily grown:

  • Canada
  • New York State
  • Sweden

Wine Styles:

  • Off-dry to sweet dessert ice wine
  • Dry white wine

Fun Facts:

  • Vidal is one of the very few grape varieties that is an American hybrid. Almost all wines you drink today are European vines. Grape vines native to America generally make terrible wines, with Vidal being a rare exception.
  • Since Vidal is very winter hardy, it makes excellent Icewine. Icewine is made by leaving the grapes on the vine into winter, so they are harvested frozen. The sugars don’t freeze, but the water in the grape does, so when the grapes are pressed, the frozen water is removed, leaving behind a sweet juice that is then fermented to create sweet Icewine.

Wine Texture:

  • Body: Medium
  • Acidity: High
  • Alcohol: Medium
  • Sugar: Off-dry to sweet

Flavor and aroma profile:

  • Citrus fruit: grapefruit, melon, lychee
  • Tropical fruit: pineapple
  • Stone fruit: apricot
  • Floral: honeysuckle

You might like this grape if you like…:

  • Riesling

Food Pairings:

  • Scallops, crab or tuna
  • Spicy dishes
  • Fruit-based desserts
  • Panna cotta

Recommendations:

Tomasello Vidal Blanc Ice Wine 2016, $15

Image result for Tomasello Vineyards - Tomasello Vidal Ice Wine 2016

Jackson Triggs Vidal Ice Wine Proprieter’s Reserve 2016, $18

Image result for Jackson-Triggs - Vidal Icewine Proprietor's' Reserve 2016

Inniskillin Vidal Gold Icewine 2017, $47

Image result for Inniskillin - Vidal Gold Icewine 2017