2016 Magnotta Dry Vidal, Equus Series (Ontario VQA)

Magnotta's Dry Vidal is a consistently good example of what the Vidal grape can do when vinified in a dry table-wine style. I've been following this wine for the past 20 years!

12.5% alc./vol. Medium-straw yellow in the glass. Some fine carbonation along the bottom of the glass. Expansive aromas of citrus (lemon skin, mainly), pine/fir buds, a whiff of petroleum (similar to Riesling), and a hint of floral tropical fruit...most often, I get guava on the nose of these Vidal table wines. The empty glass releases a mild but persistent, sweet piney aroma reminiscent of freshly cut pine.

Electrifyingly crisp acidity; clean, lean and cleansing. Excellent zip. Warming and cleansing on the mid-palate, simultaneously.

A great wine for seafood, but certainly good in any situation that calls for a crisp and dry white wine.

2013 Magnotta Dry Vidal Equus Series (Ontario VQA)

I remember enjoying this wine tremendously many years ago. I'm happy to say that Magnotta's dry Vidal, while having undergone a name and label change since the early days, is as fine a wine as I remember it.

In fact, I love dry Vidal table wine so much that the background on my blog is a photo of Vidal grapes growing in Niagara wine country. Vidal is one of Ontario's most versatile wine grapes.

12.8% alc./vol. Clear, medium-straw/yellow hue in the glass. Wonderful aromas of lemon candy, pineapple, pine needles and guava. Crisp and focused on the entry, with that lively and lovely varietal acidity; a warm but balanced texture; and a palate-cleansing, fully dry finish that I appreciate.

Magnotta's retail outlet is a fine place to visit and the prices are right. I have long believed that Magnotta makes Ontario's best dry Vidal table wine... I still believe it, having tasted this version.

$7.45 for a 750 ml bottle, and worth every penny.

2011 Konzelmann Vidal Golden Vintage (Ontario VQA)

The 2011 Konzelmann Vidal Golden Vintage pours with a beautiful clear straw colour, showing light yellow highlights in the glass.

Aromas of passion fruit, papaya, ripe pineapple and pine needles on the nose show that alliteration need not take the first letter of the grape's name...(!)

Ripe, sweet pineapple flavours lead on the entry; a touch of residual sugar moderates acidity that is refreshing and in fine balance. A tangerine flavour emerges on the mid-palate and offers some pleasant citrus-rind replays on the finish, which wraps up with just a touch of warmth (12 % alc./vol.).

Konzelmann's Vidal is one of my favourite examples of varietal Ontarian Vidal table wine. It shows how versatile the Vidal grape is in Ontario's winescape. Vidal produces wines across the full spectrum: from dry, crisp table wines, to off-dry ones like this one; and, finally, late-harvest dessert wines and the pinnacle - icewine.

Vidal Golden Vintage is available at the winery only, for $9.75 per bottle.

2012 Reif Estate Vidal (Ontario VQA)

The 2012 Reif Vidal pours with a very light, pale greenish straw colour. Initially shy on the nose, the wine showed more of a bouquet a day after being opened and kept in the fridge.

After it warmed up and upon being swirled in the glass, the Vidal revealed clean, light pineapple aromas and a hint of pine needles. The entry is clean, crisp and light; some tangerine rind (common to Vidal table wines) shows up on the fore-palate. Very crisp and dry on the finish, with some warmth rounding it out (12% alc./vol.). Apparently, this wine has 10 g/L of residual sugar (as per the LCBO product description), but it tastes drier.

Overall, this is a light-bodied Vidal. It works really well as an aperitif, but also with any main course calling for a light, dry white wine.

Purchased for $9.95 on general list at the LCBO.

I like to think of Vidal being to Ontario what Grüner Veltliner is to Austria: a regionally recognizable grape that may not be one of the "mainstream" varieties, but that can be counted on to produce quality table wine with a defined character. 

Vidal is, in fact, a very versatile grape: it produces everything from icewines to late-harvest wines, off-dry table wines - and dry crisp wines, like this one. It's well worth checking out.

2010 Pelee Island Late Harvest Vidal (Ontario VQA)

Screwcap closure; 12.5% alc./vol.; on sale for $10.95 (at time of writing) on regular list at the LCBO.

Light straw colour with a slightly viscous appearance. Green apple, pineapple, citrus pith and a whiff of something that reminds me of varietal Diamond. Zippy acidity on the entry, immediately balanced by a rounded residual sweetness; tangy and zesty on the mid-palate. Warm zesty replays last long into the finish.

One of my favourite Vidals, year in and year out, the Late Harvest edition of Pelee Island's Vidal (there are two - a near-dry one called Monarch and this sweeter one, Late Harvest) is a reliable go-to wine if you happen to want something a few notches sweeter than your average table wine. Unlike many late-harvest wines in Ontario, this one is always bottled in a 750 ml format.

2010 Magnotta Harvest Moon Vidal (Ontario VQA)

A medium-sweet Vidal, attractively packaged in a deep blue 750 ml bottle. Synthetic cork closure. $9.95 at the Magnotta retail outlet; 12.6% alc./vol.

The Vidal pours with a pretty, semi-unctuous straw hue and brilliant clarity. A beautiful mix of ripe tropical fruits rises out of the glass: pineapple, tangerine, fresh orange juice, Granny Smith apple, and that note of spicy passionfruit that is so typical in sweeter versions of Vidal.  Laser-crisp acidity on the entry, well wrapped in a blanket of residual sweetness (7 g/l). Crisp/sweet texture, but the acidity never lets up bringing on the tang - so this wine still works decidedly well at the dinner table. Lots of citrusy tangerine / pink-grapefruit zest in the finish, which again is fleshed out nicely by another dose of residual... A very pleasing wine indeed.

Even though I am partial to dry wine across the entire vinous spectrum, I still find the occasion now and then to enjoy a late-harvest Vidal - one of Ontario's true gems, and with a close heritage to another regional highlight: icewine.

2008 Konzelmann "Golden Vintage" Vidal (Ontario VQA)

One of my favourite Vidals, but only available at the winery.  Natural cork closure. 12% alc./vol.

Light straw colour.  Lovely aromas of apricot, pineapple, green apple, passionfruit and citrus - classic Ontario Vidal.  Balanced on the entry, with tart acidity but a rounding sweetness of light- to moderate intensity.  Pineapple replays on the midpalate.  A warm, cleansing, tart / sweet finish - very invigorating and enjoyable.

I am convinced that Vidal is one of Ontario's noble grape varieties: not only is it versatile (dry, off-dry, late-harvest wines and icewines are made from it), but it does each of these styles extremely well.  Konzelmann's Vidal is not only no exception to this rule, but it is indeed exemplary.

2010 Konzelmann Select Late Harvest Vidal (Ontario VQA)

10.5% alc./vol.  Solid natural cork closure.

Deep straw colour with a pale amber glint.  Beautifully complex aromas of luscious tropical fruits (pineapple, passionfruit) and green apple, with a viscous raisiny note.  Sweet / tart on the entry, with a sweet, viscous but also tart texture; lots of electrifying, palate-wakening energy in this wine.  Passionfruit replays on the finish.

Truly wonderful!

2009 Pelee Island Monarch Vidal (Ontario VQA)

$9.95 in the VQA section, regular list; screwcap closure.

Pelee Island's Vidal wines are my favourites, and have been for years. I love what this winery does with its Vidal: it makes a dry table wine, and a late-harvest version, also suitable for table consumption, but a couple of notches higher on the sweetness scale. Both are exceptional examples of what varietal Vidal can do in Ontario in table-wine (i.e. non-icewine) iterations.

12.5% alc./vol. Bright, pale clear light green with lots of C02 bubbles clinging to the inside of the glass. Big Granny Smith apple and tart pineapple aromas on the nose with every swirl. Grapefruit and lemon rind follow shortly thereafter. Brisk, crisp entry; pineapple right on the fore-palate; tart but balanced; cleansing texture; lovely definition. Some alcoholic warmth on the mid-palate and into the finish. Very appetizing and palate-wakening impression. Green mango flavours and aromas make fleeting appearances across the palate, but only long enough to be noticed - and then they disappear. Served chilled on a hot day, this wine could go pretty quickly.

As always, I highly recommend this wine. It's easily recognized by the monarch butterfly sticker and, nowadays, the orange screwcap closure.

2010 Scotch Block Winery Halton White

Just in time for summer, the 2010 vintage of Scotch Block's legendary Halton White is yet another example of the kind of flavourful regional wines that await you at Halton Region's first winery.  The 2010 Halton White pours with a bright, clear straw colour and a pale yellow glint.  Some youthful carbonation clings to the inside of the glass.  The bouquet is clean and fruity, featuring pineapple, green apple, honeysuckle and cantaloupe aromas.  The wine is brisk and crisply tart on the entry, but is immediately balanced by some residual sweetness.  It features a bracing, clean, balanced texture, with a zesty, just barely off-dry, yet crisp, finish.  It's fruity and lively, and will go wonderfully as a chilled sipping wine, or indeed, as a dinner wine.

2009 Reif Estate Vidal (Ontario VQA)

$9.95 on general list in the VQA section at the LCBO. Closed with a very smart screwcap. 12% alc./vol.

Pours a very pale, crystal-clear, green-tinged clear-straw hue; a tiny bit of effervescence clings to the bottom of the glass.  Gentle aromas of melon and pineapple; very subtle.  Beautiful, laser-crisp acidity on the attack; clean and near-dry, but with a small amount of residual sweetness just rounding out the entire package.  Plenty of zesty white grapefruit flavours on the mid-palate and in the finish.  Clean and bracing structure; palate-cleansing. 

I tried it at basement temperature, but served chilled, it would really sing.  This went perfectly with pan-fried cod fillets. 

2009 wasn't an especially good vintage in Ontario, being quite cold and a bit wet.  Yet Vidal - the icewine grape - once again shows its mettle and versatility, putting out a wonderful table wine that can be enjoyed in as many situations as the imagination allows.

2008 Pelee Island Late Harvest Vidal (Ontario VQA)

Since about 1998, this wine has been one of a small number of sweet wines that I truly enjoy. Pelee Island produces two versions of varietal Vidal in 750 ml format: the regular "Monarch Vidal" bottling, which is near dry, to this sweeter bottling (about '3' on the LCBO sugar scale).

11.0% alc./vol. Natural particle-cork closure. $11.95 in the VQA section at the LCBO.

Beautiful, pale straw colour with a light green glint. Some tiny CO2 bubbles inside the glass after pouring. Aromas of ripe pineapple, peaches and apricot nectar. Excellent sweet-tart balance, with noticeable residual sugar - but a good bright streak of acidity keeping it all completely in check. Hints of icewine on the mid-palate, albeit with less viscosity and concentration. This definitely still works as a table wine: despite the "late harvest" moniker, it is not so heavy that it can't be served with an appropriate main course. Opulent peach and apricot-nectar flavours, with a pleasant dash of nutmeg on the mid- to aft-palate. Finishes clean and crisp.

One of the best Vidals in Ontario, year in, year out.

Climatic suitability, not marketing, should decide what grapes we grow

I've written about this before, but certain trends continue to show that building a wine industry from the grape up needs greater attention.

When the market is said to desire a specific type of wine, a wine region may be compelled to focus on grape varieties that aren't wholly suitable to its climate in order to satisfy the perceived consumer taste. That, then, begs a different question: Why not build the local wine industry around grape varieties that are the "best fit" climatically? This isn't to say that other, more difficult-to-grow varieties shouldn't be planted at all, but rather that they shouldn't be the main grapes for which a region becomes known at the expense of those that are a better natural fit.

Let's take some of the so-called "old-line French hybrids" - e.g. Marechal Foch, Baco Noir, Seyval Blanc and Vidal. All these grapes are excellent candidates for viticulture in southern Ontario. They remain players to some extent to this day (especially Vidal, one of the icewine grapes par excellence). But the VQA system denies their table wines - even the best, cleanest, ripest table wines made from them - geographic specificity of origin: the wines cannot be labeled "VQA Niagara Peninsula" or "VQA Lake Erie North Shore"; they can only bear a "VQA Ontario" designation. This strange practice would seem to suggest that terroir only works on vinifera grapes, which is an intuitively absurd notion.

In the late 1990s, estate-grown wines from Marechal Foch and Seyval, even De Chaunac (this last one is unrecognized by VQA for varietal wine purposes) were easily available throughout the Peninsula. Since that time, though, more and more wineries have eliminated those well made, enjoyable table wines with all-vinifera "portfolios". Even the sound of the word "portfolio" makes me uneasy: it's as if we are talking stocks and bonds, not grape and wine farming.

Kudos to Henry of Pelham for keeping the Baco Noir torch going. But I miss Lakeview Cellars' Foch and De Chaunac; I miss Inniskillin's Old Vines Foch; I miss Stoney Ridge Cellars' oaked Seyval.

There should be a re-think in the way wineries conceptualize wines from our region. When you have grape varieties that grow well in our climate, take our winters well, need little chemical input to keep them healthy and produce reliable crops each year, those grapes should be treated as prized material to be elevated with caring hands into clean, crisp, palate-invigorating wines of value. The emphasis should be not on their displacement by what's fashionable - because fashion is fickle and mindless often times. What sort of legacy is built around constant shifting?

We need to want to develop our own long-standing traditions based on cultivars naturally suited to the growing conditions in our region - both vinifera (e.g. Zweigelt, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir) and hybrid (traditional hybrids or new-generation hybrids) - and to do so without constantly deferring to some unspecified mythical wine authority that will confer upon our efforts that much-coveted nod of approval.

2006 Scotch Block Winery Halton White

The 2006 Halton White from Scotch Block is my second-favourite release of this wine (the inaugural 2002 vintage was undoubtedly the most memorable). I am very impressed with the quality of Halton's very own regional wine from what was certainly a challenging ripening season.

A blend of several white grape varieties (mainly Vidal, Cayuga and Seyval), the wine is a very pale, almost watery-clear colour with a tinge of youthful green and some carbonation along the inside of the glass. Fresh, lemony/citric nose with light tropical-fruit nuances. Briskly tart on the entry with lively acidity and a crisp, balanced texture. Crisp and minerally all across the palate - a most enjoyable white. Chill a bottle of Halton White on a hot summer's day and enjoy it while grilling outdoors. The wine is invigorating and cleansing.

Ever since Halton White first came out, I have been an ardent supporter of this wine. May we continue to enjoy wines of regional identity - true products of the Ontarian countryside!

2003 Willow Springs Vidal (Ontario VQA)

Willow Springs is interesting for its location, being north of Toronto, in Stouffville, Ontario. I purchased this wine recently at the LCBO for just under $10. The wine was closed with a plastic cork but doesn't seem to be any worse for wear as a result; in fact, it is really very attractive.

11.3% alc. Rich medium straw hue with greenish glints; some carbonation still, which was not expected. Lovely rich pineapple nose accented with whiffs of tangerine and fleeting hints of pina colada. Off-dry but balanced with scintillating acidity, fine crispness, very fresh and invigorating with flavours that follow onto the palate and a cleansing texture towards the finish.

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.