Jackson-Triggs 2007 Vidal Ice Wine Review

The Vidal Grape is a hybrid grape designed in the 1930’s that turns out to have a great hardiness to colder climates and a bit of a resistance to certain molds. It also happens to be a grape variety that grows well in Canada and the northern United States which explains why we’re reviewing a Jackson-Triggs 2007 Vidal ice wine from Canada.

I poured a glass and found it to be a great golden apple coloring, perhaps like a rich and dark Chardonnay. The wine simply looks rich and delicious upon sight, so let’s move on to the next sense: smell.

The nose of the 2007 Vidal is best summed up as a bright apple pie with a mango twist all arriving on the sweeter side of life. As a desert wine, you’d never expect anything less than a sweet nose but you’ll get some nice tropical flavorings with a dominant apple. It’s not the most exciting bouquet that I’ve had a chance to stuff my nose in, but it’s no slouch either. I was hoping for a few more defined flavors on my third sniff but you can’t complain about a tropical apple, right?

The initial taste, on my palate, was ripe pears mingled with a sweetly roasted apple. I also get a bit of red grape; I find red grapes have a bit more sweet factor than the greener cousins and this wine has that sweet factor all the way to the bank. However, I see the green grape side of life towards the finish because of the nice acidity on the finish that actually makes me salivate.

While this isn’t the thickest ice wine in my collection it is definitely smooth and inviting. The finish leaves a little prickle on the tongue with nothing but a well-balanced sense of sweetness and acids. The Jackson-Triggs 2007 Vidal Ice Wine has one primary feature that requires outlining: acidity. Many ice wines tend to round off the acidity because of the intense sweetness but the Vidal grape holds its sweetness against a lovely acidity which I believe is one of the backbones of the Vidal variety.

If you love a white wine because if its acids and the ability to warm your mouth up to food, this ice wine may do that for you. However, as an after dinner sweet wine, I’d probably suggest you drink this before a moderately sweet dessert to top off the night.