New Wines for 2020, 3 of 3: "Vidal Blanc"

This dry white wine is medium bodied with delightful fruit flavors that finishes with a touch of spice. The Vidal (vee-dahl) Blanc grape is an offspring of a classic old world varietal and we believe this unoaked take on it showcases how crisp and refreshing this wine can be. Best served chilled with seafood, shellfish, and most white meats.

As with other single varietal wines we make, this one gets the classic Dale Hollow estate scene label. We use this scene when it’s a single grape varietal to help our customers know when a wine is a blend or not, because not everyone is familiar with these unusual grape names! Not yet at least, we are trying to change that, one grape and bottle at a time.

Vidal is a white hybrid grape variety produced from the Vitis vinifera variety Ugni blanc (also known as Trebbiano Toscano) and another hybrid variety, Rayon d'Or (Seibel 4986). It is a very winter-hardy variety that manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates with moderate to high acidity (thank you, Wikipedia). Katy sampled lots of Trebbiano during her trips to Italy as it is the most widely planted white grape in the country. Interesting fact, the parent grape of Trebbiano is Garganega, which is the primary grape used in Soave wine. Now you know the full Vidal Blanc family tree! Mark that off your list of things you hope to learn this year.

The grape was developed in the 1930s by French wine grape breeder Jean Louis Vidal (can you imagine a more French name?); his primary goal in developing the variety was for the production of Cognac in the Charente-Maritime region of western France. Fortunately for us, his tinkering with varietal crossing yielded a delightful wine making grape that can withstand our cold winters. Like many things in science and growing things, some of the best discoveries come about through happy accident!

That wraps up our series on “New Wines of 2020”. As always, our passion is in growing grapes and making wine. We love experimenting with new techniques and grapes and couldn’t ask for better “samplers” than our customers.

Cheers!