2023 Ridgeside Vidal Icewine Half Bottle 375ml, Niagara Peninsula

From the frozen vineyards of Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula, this icewine captures the dramatic concentration that only true winter harvest can deliver. Vidal is perfectly suited to the region, holding acidity even as berries freeze and sugars intensify. Ridgeside harvests in deep winter when temperatures plunge well below freezing, pressing the grapes while still solid to extract a tiny stream of intensely sweet, acid driven juice. The Niagara climate, moderated by the Great Lakes, allows this extreme ripening without losing freshness.

Winemaking is about preserving purity and balance. Fermentation is slow and careful, aiming to retain the grape’s electric acidity so the wine feels vibrant rather than heavy. The result is a dessert wine built on tension as much as sweetness.

Deep gold in colour, the aromas are explosive, opening with apricot, mango and pineapple, followed by honey, marmalade and candied citrus. There is a lifted freshness beneath the richness that keeps the bouquet alive. The palate is luscious and mouth coating, with tropical fruit and honey wrapped in piercing acidity. Flavours of peach, citrus peel and caramelised fruit flow into a long, clean finish that never feels cloying.

It pairs beautifully with blue cheese, fruit desserts, foie gras or simply on its own as a contemplative finish to a meal. Served well chilled, it becomes even more vibrant. While irresistible now, it will cellar for decades, developing deeper toffee and dried fruit complexity.

This is Niagara icewine in its classic voice, opulent yet electric, sweetness anchored by crystalline acidity.