Vidal blanc (or simply Vidal) is a white hybrid grape variety produced from the Vitis vinifera variety Ugni blanc (also known as Trebbiano Toscano) and another hybrid variety, Rayon d'Or (Seibel 4986). It is a very winter-hardy variety that manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates with moderate to high acidity. The grape was developed in the 1930s by French wine grape breeder Jean Louis Vidal; his primary goal in developing the variety was for the production of Cognac in the Charente-Maritime region of western France. However, due to its winter hardiness this grape variety is cultivated most extensively in the Canadian wine regions of Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia where it is often used for ice wine production as a permitted grape of the Vintners Quality Alliance. It is also grown widely throughout the United States where it is used to produce both dry and sweet wines in the Finger Lakes AVA of New York, Yadkin Valley AVA and Crest of the Blue Ridge, Henderson County AVA of North Carolina, Outer Coastal Plain AVA of Southern New Jersey, Michigan, Virginia, Missouri and other states. The grape is also grown just 500 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden where it is also used to make ice wine. The wine produced from Vidal blanc tends to be very fruity, with aroma notes of grapefruit and pineapple. Due to its high acidity and sugar potential, it is particularly suited to sweeter, dessert wines. In particular, because of the tough outer skin of the fruit, it is well adapted for the production of ice wine. It is somewhat resistant to downy mildew but is very susceptible to other viticultural hazards such as coulure and powdery mildew. Parentage Vidal blanc is a complex, hybrid varietal cultivated from grapevines belonging to several different species within the genus Vitis. One parent, Ugni blanc, is from the Vitis vinifera species of European grapevines that produce most of the world's well-known wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Vidal blanc's second parent, Rayon d'Or, was a Seibel grape with itself also being an inter-specific crossing of Aramon du Gard and Seibel 405 (both inter-specific crossings themselves). Included in this extended family tree of Vidal blanc are varieties from the Vitis rupestris and Vitis aestivalis species and grapes produced by notable hybrid breeders Thomas Volney Munson, Hermann Jaeger and Albert Seibel. History Vidal