Inniskillin Pearl Vidal Icewine 2019

Icewines made from the Vidal grape are noted for their honey, tangerine, apricot and pineapple flavors. When Vidal is aged in oak it takes on rich overtones of vanilla, almonds and fresh baked bread. Icewine is a concentrated, intense wine that needs to be poured in small portions and should be given special consideration when combining with different foods. Vidal Icewine works beautifully in a glaze for caramelized grilled pork roast or as an accompaniment to fresh summer berries with cream, chocolate biscuits, a pear tart or a raspberry mousse. Some sweeter desserts may actually detract from the experience so it should not be paired with a food that is sweeter than the Icewine itself. It is frequently served as a course on its own as quoted in the early days by Icewine maker Karl Kaiser, "Icewine is much better as dessert than with dessert". The major difference between Icewine and other dessert wines is acidity. While all dessert wines are sweet, only the best ones have balanced acidity as well. This crucial element not only adds to the enjoyment of Icewine, but also to its natural compatibility with cheese. Many cheeses pair brilliantly with Icewine because each cheese's richness begs for that crucial acidity. Cheeses are inherently savory and sometimes salty and when prepared with the honeyed sweetness of Icewine, it creates a lovely balance that makes for a perfect match.

Icewine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape must to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine. With ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. Unlike the grapes from which other dessert wines, such as Sauternes, Tokaji, or Trockenbeerenauslese, are made, ice wine grapes should not be affected by Botrytis cinerea or noble rot, at least not to any great degree. This gives ice wine its characteristic refreshing sweetness balanced by high acidity.