2007 Limited Edition Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Finger Lakes 1.5L Magnum
This lusciously sweet wine fills the mouth with flavors of apricot, raisin and honey, with a crisp finish of pineapple. Vidal Blanc Ice Wine pairs beautifully with fine appetizers like pâté de foie gras and a wide array of desserts -- fruit and nut tarts, cheesecake, ice cream, fresh fruit, crème caramel and chocolate mousse are just a few examples. Served well chilled, if possible in cordial glasses.
A little history. In 1988, Hunt Country released their Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, the first genuine ice wine produced in the United States. It remains their marquee wine today. This delectable wine has been served at top restaurants in New York City, and was ordered by the White House for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. It was chosen for a United Nations gala dinner, where it was paired with a stupendous maple bread pudding.
Grape. Vidal Blanc is a French-American grape developed by J. L. Vidal in Bordeaux. It is a hardy variety that produces large compact clusters of straw-colored berries with tough skins that resist cracking through successive frosts, thaws and freezing. They hang tenaciously onto the vine well into the winter.
Vineyard management. A crop of moderate size yielding clean ripe grapes is ideal to save for ice wine. The grapes hang on the vine two months or more past normal harvest and endure several cycles of frosts and Indian Summer. These cycles bring out the honey and raisin flavors that add complexity to the wine.
Harvest. Conditions suitable for harvest generally fall between late November and mid January. When the temperature drops to 10 to 15ºF, the grapes are hand-picked frozen, beginning in the pre-dawn hours and usually taking until mid-day.
Pressing. First the frozen grapes are forced into a special grinder. The ground grapes are then loaded into a special horizontal basket press, which crushes them to yield a trickle of juice of high sugar content. At the start of pressing, the sweetness of the grapes is about 43º Brix. Hunt Country continues pressing until it declines to about 35º Brix, yielding an average of 38 to 40º Brix. Pressing takes several hours.
Fermentation. With a vigorous, cold-hardy yeast for 2 to 6 months in stainless steel at low temp. (50ºF).
Aging. In stainless steel, then in the bottle.
Cellaring. Delicious to drink soon after bottling,
Hunt Country Vineyards is a family farm and winery in the heart of New York’s celebrated Finger Lakes wine region. The farm's 172 acres have been home to the Hunt family for six generations.
Hunt Country Vineyards first achieved national attention in the 1990s as a pioneering producer of Vidal Blanc Ice Wine. This delectable wine has been served at the United Nations, ordered by the White House and featured on NBC's Today Show.
On our 50 acres of vineyards overlooking the Keuka valley, we now grow 13 varieties of cool-climate grapes using sustainable agricultural practices. We produce over 20 rare and distinctive wine varieties, from traditional dry vinifera (European) and French-American varietals, to complex and intense late harvest, sherry and port wines.
We employ ten people full-time and about 30 more on a seasonal or part-time basis. Our friendly staff greets about 50,000 visitors annually.
Hunt Country Vineyards has garnered over 60 major awards in prestigious competitions since 2006. In 2011, the winery will celebrate its 30th Anniversary with new wines, tastings and events. Please join the celebration!