Vidal Blanc
Today we travel north to the Finger Lakes region of New York, continue to the Niagara Falls area and cross the border into Canada to check on our Vidal Blanc plantings. Our wine geneticist friends tell us that this little gem is a hybrid of Ugni Blanc (commonly used in Cognac production and also known as Trebbiano in Italy) and Seyval Blanc, so it has mixed genes from vinifera and non-vinifera grapes.
Why do you care about this? Well, these combinations have produced a particularly hearty thick-skinned white grape. It can withstand tremendous temperature changes during growing season, particularly cold dips, and survive into a freeze. That means that the grapes can be left onto the vine until they ice over and are then picked so that they can be turned into ice wine or eiswein.
What vidal blanc is unable, generally speaking to withstand botrytis, also known as noble rot, the mold that comes when dry conditions follow wet before harvest. Botrytized wines, such as some of the great dessert wines of Sauternes and Barsac in France as well as parts of Germany and Austria, tend to be both deliciously sweet and ageworthy.
Vidal blanc wines, generally speaking, are not ageworthy. But, they are among the less expensive, beautifully sweet, dessert wines. Often quite viscous, expect your palate to be coated with flavors of pink, orange, and yellow fruits including peach, mango, nectarine, pineapple, and tangerine layered with warm baking spice.
Serve it with anything from vanilla ice cream to fruit sorbets or baked Alaska.
Why do you care about this? Well, these combinations have produced a particularly hearty thick-skinned white grape. It can withstand tremendous temperature changes during growing season, particularly cold dips, and survive into a freeze. That means that the grapes can be left onto the vine until they ice over and are then picked so that they can be turned into ice wine or eiswein.
What vidal blanc is unable, generally speaking to withstand botrytis, also known as noble rot, the mold that comes when dry conditions follow wet before harvest. Botrytized wines, such as some of the great dessert wines of Sauternes and Barsac in France as well as parts of Germany and Austria, tend to be both deliciously sweet and ageworthy.
Vidal blanc wines, generally speaking, are not ageworthy. But, they are among the less expensive, beautifully sweet, dessert wines. Often quite viscous, expect your palate to be coated with flavors of pink, orange, and yellow fruits including peach, mango, nectarine, pineapple, and tangerine layered with warm baking spice.
Serve it with anything from vanilla ice cream to fruit sorbets or baked Alaska.
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