2012 Domaine de Grand Pré Vidal Ice Wine, Nova Scotia

2012 Domaine de Grand Pré Vidal Ice Wine, Nova Scotia

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2012 Domaine de Grand Pré Vidal Ice Wine, Nova Scotia

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Description

This Vidal Icewine was hand picked at Warner Vineyards in Lakeville, Nova Soctia  at the end of the old and the beginning of the new millennium. It displays notes of apricots, lemon, blood orange and marmalade. It is balanced with crisp acidity and a long, lingering, sweet finish. 182 g/l residual sugar ,14.5 g/l  natural acidity. Ice wines are magnificent with cheese, especially blue cheese, hard and aged cheeses like Parmigiano, aged Gruyère and some sheep’s cheese.  

Canadian Icewine is produced  in British Columbia, Quebec, and particularly Ontario. Grapres are harvested once they have reached temperatures as low as -8C/18F, yet the sugar levels are considerably higher than the minimum requirements for Germany and Austria Icewein.  Grapes come from Vinifera vines or the French hybrid Vidal… Residual sugar at bottling must be at least 125g/l.


Midway between the equator and the North Pole, the region of Nova Scotia has a notably short growing season which restricts the number of varieties that can be planted in the Annapolis valley and Northumberland strait. Plantings include local specialities l’Acadie, Vidal, Seyval Blanc, Marechal Foch, and De Chaunac.  

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About this WINE

Domaine de Grand Pre

Domaine de Grand Pre

Hanspeter Stutz, a Swiss business man, bought Grand Pre Wines in 1993. Founded in 1978, the farm winery is the oldest in the Province and Atlantic Canada. After spending several years renovating the buildings and the property, the winery was reopened in 2000, the first estate winery in the province. The beautifully landscaped property has cobble-stoned walkways inlaid with giant grape leaves of granite. There is a wine museum below the wine shop and tasting room from where you can see into the wine cellar. The estate is also home to an award-winning fine dining restaurant called Le Caveau.

Before moving to Canada, Hanspeter’s son Jurg studied grape growing and winemaking at the Technische Hochschule in Waedenswil, Switzerland, where he graduated five years later as an oenologist. Jurg came to Canada just in time for the estate’s first harvest in 1999. Domaine de Grand Pre produces wines from 100% Nova Scotian grown grapes that represent the Nova Scotian climate. The winery grows mainly hybrid varieties, grown on 34 acres in the Annapolis Valley, and their Vidal ice wine is an excellent example of its type. The estate also has a fascinating apple ice cider ‘Pomme d’Or’ that has won national and international awards. Berry Bros. & Rudd is delighted to be the exclusive UK stockist of both the Vidal ice wine and ‘Pomme d’Or’ ice cider.

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Canada

Canada

Though one might not necessarily expect it from a land associated with mounties and maple syrup, Canada has been making wine for over 200 years and has a flourishing industry. The heartlands of the Canadian wine industry are found across four regions:

  • Ontario 
  • British Columbia 
  • Quebec 
  • Nova Scotia

Something these regions have in common is their proximity to large bodies of water (lakes, seas, and sometimes both), which shield the vines from the devastating effects of the severe winters.

The first Canadian wine-makers tried to cultivate the European vitis vinifera. After only limited success they turned their attention instead to native American vines such as vitis labrusca (to be carefully distinguished from menispermum canadense, a poisonous local plant also called Canadian Moonseed) and vitis riparia. Wine-makers concentrated on these vines until the 1970s when French hybridsVidal Blanc, Seybal Blanc, Baco Noir and Maréchal Foch (aka ‘Foch’) – were introduced.

Initially, the majority of Canada’s production was fortified wines, styled after Port and Sherry, but when the hybrid vines were introduced, consumer demand gradually shifted towards table wines with a much lower alcoholic content.

Since the late 1980s, the growing success of vinifera wines such as , both for the home and international Canadian market has shifted emphasis on these varieties (esp. Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Merlot and even Pinot Noir in warm pockets of the country).

Though each region has its own specialities, Canada is particularly renowned for high quality sweet wines such as Icewine (of which it is the world’s largest producer) and late harvest wines from Riesling, Vidal, Ehrenfelser or Optima.

Canadian wines are governed by an appellation system known as the VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) which guarantees the quality of the wines made under its auspices. Wines bearing an appellation designation must be made exclusively from vinifera grapes. The only exception to this is Icewine, which can be made from Vidal.

Icewine

Considered as the most famous quality ambassador for Canada’s wine industry, Icewine is produced in British Columbia, Québec and Ontario. Though it is speculated that the Romans may have produced something similar to Icewine and that it was first accidentally made in Germany in 1794, the first intentional production of Icewine occurred in the Rheingau region in 1830.

Canada’s appellation system, the VQA, strictly regulates the wine-making process. Icewine must be made exclusively from either vitis vinifera grapes or from the hybrid Vidal; the addition of sweet reserve is forbidden. The harvest takes place by hand,  after temperatures have dropped below 13˚C (usually around December) and the grapes have frozen naturally on the vines - no artificial grape freezing is permitted.

The process of freezing and thawing during this wintry exposure shrivels the grapes and concentrates its sugars, acids and extracts. This means that by the time grapes are harvested an “icewine vine” will produce, on average, only one-fifth the amount of the juice of a typical vine.

The production of Icewine is a laborious, elaborate and expensive process. If left too long, grapes run the risk of being eaten by animals or becoming too frozen to yield any juice. As grapes must be pressed while still frozen, pickers and cellar-workers must work in bitter cold and at unsociable hours to ensure the finest quality is achieved. Due to their high sugar content, Icewines can take several months to ferment – considerably longer than other wines.

Icewine is lusciously sweet, seductive and intensely flavoured, however the fruit sweetness is perfectly balanced by vivid, refreshing acidity. Signature flavours include mango, peach, lychee, passion fruit and pineapple. Classic grapes for Icewine production are: Riesling, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and, notably, the red grape Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc Icewine displays a light pink colour, similar to a Rosé wine.

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