Blanc was created in the 1930s by French grape breeder Jean-Louis Vidal (1880-1976) as a potential variety to be used in cognac production in the maritime climate and cold winters of western France. To breed to the grape he used Ugni blanc (also known as Trebbiano) in Tuscany, the primary grape historically used in brandy production, and Rayon d'Or, a winter-hardy hybrid grape that was successfully used previously to breed Seyval blanc. Though the variety was created in France, today it is no longer an authorized grape variety with only a few rare plantings remaining in the Charente-Maritime department. In the late 1940s, the grape was brought to Canada by Adhemar de Chaunac, a French enologist working for the Ontario wine producer T.G. Bright & Company (later known as Bright Wines). De Chaunac was responsible for bringing many Vitis vinifera and hybrid varieties to Canada to see which grapes could grow well in the Canadian climate. Vidal Blanc was one of the varieties that de Chaunac experimented with. However, the style of ice wine that Vidal blanc would become associated with didn't become commercially popular in Canada till the 1980s. In 1984 karl Kaiser of Inniskillin initiated what would become a global luxury brand, using Vidal to vinify Icewine. Canadian icewine gained world recognition when Inniskillin won the Grand Prix d'Honneur in 1991 at Vinexpo in Bordeaux, France. Viticulture Vidal blanc is a very winter-hardy variety, able to survive prolonged exposure to cold temperatures during the dormant winter season and produce viable secondary buds that will still yield a crop even after a late spring frost. It is a mid-ripening grape able to accumulate sufficient sugar levels to make dry wines but can also hang on the vine long in to the season to produce late-harvest and ice wine. While the vine has some resistance to downy mildew, it can be very susceptible to powdery mildew and coulure as well as anthracnose. The long grape bunches of small berries can also be prone to developing botrytis bunch rot. Wine regions Though Vidal blanc is no longer authorized in France or widely planted there, the grape has found success in North America where it is grown in many wine regions throughout Canada and the United States as well as Sweden. Canada First introduced to the country in the 1940s, Vidal blanc is widely grown throughout Canada with 777 hectares (1,920 acres)