2005 Magnotta Dry Vidal (Ontario VQA)

One of my favourite white wines to have on hand during the summer months is Magnotta's dry Vidal, which is Vidal in a table-wine iteration (unlike the majority of varietal Vidal, which typically goes into late-harvest or icewine production). Typically, I see dry Vidal as very similar to Grüner Veltliner - in function, if not necessarily in aromatic similarity. Still, there is often a stylistic kinship between these two, and it goes without saying that I am a fan of GV as well.

13% alc. Electrifyingly sharp greenish-gold in the glass, with plenty of C02 bubbles all along the insides of the glass. Clean, minerally/green-apple nose, much like many a Viennese Grüner Veltliner I've tried. Invigoratingly crisp and minerally on the palate right from the entry, across the mid-palate and into the finish. Minerally green-apple with secondary conferous aromas all across the palate; very substantive, showing the excellent ripeness of 2005 in Niagara. This is a perfect apéritif wine, and truly an excellent example of varietal Vidal done right as a table wine with structure. I think that Magnotta makes the best example of Vidal table wine for a very modest price. This is year in, year out, a superb wine for the money and I highly recommend it.