Vidal Blanc

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  October 2009

  Splendor In The Glass Southern Hills Winery NV

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by amcounsell

  
  
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  October 2009

  Sakonnet Vineyards Sirius NV

  Snoothrank:

  The nose was lovely (in my notes I actually underlined lovely several times) ... that you so often get from Vidal Blanc grapes. In the mouth, the wine is smooth and rich, with soft notes of apricot. Definitely a nice dessert wine, the Sirrius would also be good sipped on its own... Read moreThe nose was lovely (in my notes I actually underlined lovely several times) ... that you so often get from Vidal Blanc grapes. In the mouth, the wine is smooth and rich, with soft notes of apricot. Definitely a nice dessert wine, the Sirrius would also be good sipped on its own as an aperitif    (hide)

  Wine review by MTB

  
  
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  October 2009

  Sakonnet Vineyards Fume Vidal 2006

  Snoothrank:

  Aged in small American and French oak barrels, the Fume Vidal is a drier and ... aggressive wine than the Vidal Blanc. The grapefruit notes in both the nose and the mouth are stronger, and the oak brings out sharper, richer fruit notes with a light toasty finish

  Wine review by MTB

  
  
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  October 2009

  Sakonnet Vineyards Vidal Blanc 2008

  Snoothrank:

  Made from 100% Vidal Blanc grapes aged in stainless steel with no oak, the wine has that lovely “vidal” nose – bright and fruity, with lovely notes of grapefruit. The wine is smooth, crisp and very refreshing, with notes of grapefruit and a slight sweetness that balances out... Read moreMade from 100% Vidal Blanc grapes aged in stainless steel with no oak, the wine has that lovely “vidal” nose - bright and fruity, with lovely notes of grapefruit. The wine is smooth, crisp and very refreshing, with notes of grapefruit and a slight sweetness that balances out the grapefruity tartness.    (hide)

  Wine review by MTB

  
  
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  October 2009

  Standing Stone Vidal Ice Finger Lakes United States New York

  Snoothrank:

  Beautiful salmon color. Nose of lychee and jackfruit with a little fresh cream. Tropical fruit flavors with a little macademia nuts. Good acidity in the finish. This wine needs a dessert of , tropical fruits with cream. 2003 vintage

  Wine review by schellbe

  
  
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  October 2009

  Digrazia Vineyards Meadowbrook NV

  Snoothrank:

  More of a sipping wine than anything else. Paired this with a turkey meatloaf, some sweet potatoes, and broccoli and cheese...A nice, strong flavor, but too sweet...

  Wine review by jmd477

  
  
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  October 2009

  Montezuma Winery Wetland White NV

  Snoothrank:

  No written review

  Wine review by Wyoba

  
  

• September 2009

  I was asked by a fellow snoother to write a bit about Norton wines after I had ... (a Chardonnay hybrid) and Vidal Blanc (a French hybrid of Ugni Blanc and Seibel) did do well and produced some excellent wines. But, the one that really surprised me was a wine I didn't know called... Read moreI was asked by a fellow snoother to write a bit about Norton wines after I had ... (a Chardonnay hybrid) and Vidal Blanc (a French hybrid of Ugni Blanc and Seibel) did do well and produced some excellent wines. But, the one that really surprised me was a wine I didn't know called Norton (sometimes also called Cynthiana). First, I should begin by stating that Norton is a grape that is uniquely American in origin which is principally used to produce a dry red wine. It was discovered and introduced to the world by Dr. Daniel Norton (1794-1842) of Virginia. It was first mentioned in William Prince's book "A Treatise on the Vine", published in 1830. It is presumed to be a hybrid of the Bland grape (a now extinct Vitis aestivalis hybrid of uncertain origin) and Miller's Burgundy (Pinot Meunier, a Vitis vinifera). Whatever it is, it happened by chance, and it was a lucky break for future American vintners. A few years after Norton's discovery, a group of German immigrants founded a town along the Missouri River called Hermann, Missouri. There they planted a considerable amount of Norton grapes which were used to produce some very fine wines. At the 1873 Vienna World Exposition a Norton wine from Hermann, MO won a gold medal and was pronounced one of the finest wines in the world. But, a few decades later came Prohibition and, for a while, the world forgot about Norton, Missouri and a great American wine. Sometime in the mid 1960's, a few adventurous people purchased, and began the long process of rebuilding some of the fine old wineries of Missouri and once again producing that almost forgotten wine, Norton. A decade later a second wave of adventurers began opening new wineries in the region. On June 20, 1980 the first federally approved AVA (American Viticultural Area) was given to Augusta, MO. That was eight months before Napa Valley, CA received it's AVA. The wine industry in Missouri had officially returned. Enough with the history lessons, so how does it taste? OK, now it's opinion time. I find Norton to be a lot like Pinot Noir. Not in taste, but in the fact that it's hard to find a really good one cheap. Norton can have a bit of that foxy taste that you usually associate with Vitis labrusca wines. It is a hybrid of a Vitis aestivalis (a native wild grape) after all. What I've found is that the vintners who put in the extra effort to take these grapes to the highest level they can, produce some truly wonderful Norton wines. But, they do charge extra. You can expect to pay $20-50.00 for a good bottle of Norton. This may not sound like much compared with a great Cabernet Sauv. or Pinot Noir, but if you consider the spectacular Zinfandel and Shiraz(Syrah) wines available for under $20.00...well... Let's take barrels for instance. In California today they primarily use French oak barrels for their better wines, and American oak for only part of the process. In Missouri, most of the wineries use only American oak to age their Norton. I feel this makes the wine too oakey and so tannic, that you really can't drink it in less than ten years. It also doesn't help to disguise the foxy nose of the wine the way that a good French oak barrel could. A handful of Missouri wineries, like Stone Hill, have experimented with French as well as Hungarian oak barrels for Norton wine in recent years and have produced some amazingly good and complex wines. As I write this, I am drinking a 1997 Cynthiana (Norton) wine from Heinrichshaus Vineyards. He used primarily Hungarian and older American oak barrels to make this wine. It is still vibrant and has not yet peaked, but the Norton taste is not dominated by the foxiness of the grape, nor the harsh tannins of new American oak. Here's a short list of wineries whose Norton wines I would highly recommend: Stone Hill Winery http://www.stonehillwinery.com/ St.James Winery http://www.stjameswinery.com/ Heinrichshaus http://www.heinrichshaus.com/ Adam Puchta http://www.adampuchtawine.com/ Crown Valley http://www.crownvalleywinery.com/ Sugar Creek http://www.sugarcreekwines.com/ Blumenhof Winery http://www.blumenhof.com/ There are a lot of other wineries I could list, but all of the ones I have named produce consistently good Norton wines as well as other varietals. This should be enough information to get you off to a good start. Cheers!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Norton - a brief history of... by D9sus4

  
  
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  September 2009

  Peller Vidal Blanc Ice Wine Oak Aged 2006

  Snoothrank:

  Bought at Sam's for $17.50 - on sale from $69.99

  Wine review by picchiboo

  
  

• August 2009

  You must be from a cold-weather region, right? I've never had Chardonel or Vidal Blanc. Viognier I love, and Sauvignon Blanc is great with food, but I usually don't sip it on the porch.

  Forum post in the topic Summer Whites by ranmanvino

  
  

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