Pelee Island Vidal Ice Wine 2017 Half Bottle

Pelee Island Vidal Ice Wine VQA, Ontario, Canada, 2017, Half Bottle

Grape: 100% Vidal, sustainable farming

Producer Tasting Note:

This dessert wine is lusciously sweet and smooth with rich, concentrated aromas of apricots and peaches and notes of orange zest, dried apricot and fig.

Critical Acclaim:

Awarded 94/100 points, Decanter Magazine, September 2021

Winemaking: The Vidal grapes for this Icewine are harvested during the third week of December, once they have reached 40 degrees Brix, and are picked while still thoroughly frozen. The grapes were pressed before they were allowed to thaw and the resulting juice has a very high concentration of natural sugars and acidity.

Estate: "Pelee Island" is Canada's largest independent winery with vineyards covering 600 acres. Located in the western basin of Lake Erie, Pelee Island is Canada's southern-most inhabited tip of land. It is situated as far south as Mendocino, California, Rome and Madrid. An unusual feature is that much of the island is concave and below the surface of Lake Erie.

Icewine is a rare and exquisite product that had its beginnings in Europe nearly two centuries ago. Germany was the first to produce this wine and, as with most new ideas, it occurred by accident. Peasant farmers in Franconia were hit by a sudden, unexpected frost in the winter of 1794. Instead of despairing over the frozen grapes, they followed their instinct for frugality and made wine. The result was a small quantity of honey-sweet nectar with balancing acidity that was unlike anything they had ever produced. 

Food Match: Enjoy its superb tingling acidity and extraordinary length of finish as a sipping wine or a delicious accompaniment to semi-sweet desserts.