White grape variety
Vidal
A thick-skinned hybrid that made Canadian icewine possible.
What is Vidal?
Vidal’s value in Ontario is entirely practical: thick skins that resist splitting and rot let the fruit hang into December and January, which is what icewine requires.
Frozen and pressed while still frozen, it gives an intensely sweet, high-acid wine with tropical and stone-fruit character. Riesling icewine is made too and is finer; Vidal is the workhorse.
As a dry table wine it is unremarkable, and it is not usually made that way for a reason.
Bred in France in the 1930s by Jean-Louis Vidal, crossing Ugni Blanc with a Seibel hybrid, originally for Cognac. Its future turned out to be in Ontario.
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue, maintained by the Julius Kühn Institute, holds this variety as accession 13047 under the prime name VIDAL BLANC, with berry skin colour blanc and country of origin france, and the pedigree "UGNI BLANC X RAYON D’OR". Checked 2026-08-17.
What it tastes like
This is the envelope across every expression of Vidal, not a description of one bottle. Wide ranges are the honest answer.
| Dimension | Typical | Range | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | medium | Highly variable | |
| Acidity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Alcohol | low-medium | Some variation | |
| Body | medium-plus | Highly variable | |
| Fruit intensity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Aromatic intensity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Oak influence | low | Consistent | |
| Savoury character | low-medium | Consistent | |
| Floral character | low | Consistent | |
| Herbal / green character | low | Consistent | |
| Spice | low | Consistent | |
| Earthy character | low | Consistent | |
| Perceived freshness | medium | Consistent | |
| Texture | medium-plus | Highly variable |
Common flavours
Wines made from it
The same grape in different places and different hands. These are where the wide ranges above resolve into something specific.
Where it grows
- Niagara Peninsula — Canada
If you like Vidal, try…
Every suggestion says why it is connected and what will be different.
Closest matches
What is most like this?
Riesling
The other icewine variety in the same region, and the point of comparison Canadian producers themselves use.
Riesling icewine is more precise and ages far longer.
Malvasia
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and softer and rounder.
Hárslevelű
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be more floral, and lighter.
Similar but lighter
Something like this, but lighter?
Hunter Valley Semillon
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Riesling
The other icewine variety in the same region, and the point of comparison Canadian producers themselves use.
Riesling icewine is more precise and ages far longer.
Mosel Riesling
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be lighter, and more floral.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Something like this, but less alcoholic?
Mosel Riesling
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be lighter, and fresher.
Kabinett
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be lighter, and fresher.
Hunter Valley Semillon
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Similar but fuller
Something like this, but richer?
Pedro Ximénez
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and softer and rounder.
Condrieu
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be more floral, and softer and rounder.
Viognier
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect it to be more floral, and softer and rounder.
What to eat with it
Ranked by WineHQ's pairing engine, which reasons from the structure of the dish.
Fillet steak
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Salmon
Works because the dish is rich, and acidity cuts through fat and refreshes the palate.
Asparagus
Works because bitterness in the dish and tannin in the wine accumulate rather than balance.
Salmon in a cream sauce
Works because the dish is rich, and acidity cuts through fat and refreshes the palate.
Trout
Works because low tannin avoids the metallic interaction with fish.
Turkey
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
How to serve it
Temperature
10–13°C
50–55°F · Lightly chilled
About 45 minutes to an hour in the fridge from room temperature, or take it out of the fridge about an hour before serving.
Decanting
No need to decant
Nothing about this wine suggests it needs decanting. Light, aromatic and sparkling wines generally lose more than they gain.
Glass
Universal wine glass
A medium tulip-shaped glass handles almost everything well. If you own one set of glasses, this is the set to own — the difference between a good universal glass and a grape-specific one is far smaller than the difference between a good glass and a bad one.
Ageing
Structured wines made from this grape commonly improve with age, though everyday bottlings do not.
Almost all Vidal is made as Niagara icewine, where very high sugar and acidity make the wine extremely stable: a decade is unremarkable. Riesling icewine from the same region ages longer still. Dry Vidal is rare and is not made to keep.
Family tree
Established by DNA analysis. Ampelography alone could not have found these relationships.
Parents
VIVC accession 13047 gives the breeder-reported pedigree as Ugni Blanc × Seibel 4986 and the marker-confirmed one as Ugni Blanc × Rayon d’Or — the same cross, with Seibel 4986 under its prime name. Ugni Blanc is Trebbiano Toscano, which has a page here; Rayon d’Or does not. VIVC also classes the variety as an interspecific crossing rather than pure Vitis vinifera, which is why it survives an Ontario winter.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) — Julius Kühn-Institut, Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof