Vidal Blanc grape
Vidal Blanc is a white grape known for peach, tropical, honey. Its best-known homes are Canada, Finger Lakes.
Origin and history
A French-American hybrid bred in the 1930s by Jean-Louis Vidal, crossing Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano) with the hybrid Rayon d'Or (Seibel 4986).
Where it grows
Canada (Niagara Peninsula in Ontario), New York's Finger Lakes, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the US Midwest.
Structure
Medium body with high acidity; made dry, off-dry and, most famously, as lusciously sweet icewine or late-harvest wine.
Aromas, young and aged
Young: peach, apricot, pineapple, grapefruit and honey. With age: candied fruit, honeycomb and marmalade, especially in icewine.
Ageing
Dry styles within 1–3 years; icewine typically 5–10 years.
Also known as
Vidal, Vidal 256.
Good to know
Its thick skins hold well on the vine into winter; Inniskillin's 1989 Vidal Icewine won the Grand Prix d'Honneur at Vinexpo in 1991, putting Canadian icewine on the map.
Wine regions for Vidal Blanc
Vidal Blanc wines to try
Real bottles from The Wine Library.
Inniskillin Vidal Icewine
Niagara Peninsula · Vidal Blanc
Luscious and bright: apricot, honey, mango and vivid acidity.
Food: Fruit tarts, blue cheese, crème brûlée
Similar white grapes
Explore all grapes in the interactive guide
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