WTN: An amazing sweetie from New Jersey; Tomasello Vidal Blanc.

Tomasello Atlantic County Vidal Blanc Ice Wine 2005. 375ml; $13.99. A&P, Midland Park. Harvest Sugar 37.2 degrees Brix; Residual Sugar 17.2 degrees Brix; 11.9% alcohol. http://www.tomasellowinery.com/tasting.html

Beautiful golden color, clear hue, gorgeous aroma of classic Vidal Blanc, rich honey taste with berry notes and a tiny bit of oxidation -- a feature or a flaw? -- either way it added interest, full mouth feel, long interesting finish with several layers of flavor. One of the very best New Jersey wines I've ever tried. (The berry notes were a subtle advertisement for Tomasello's berry wines, which are almost always pleasing.) 4*+.

lAdded two nights later after leaving it in the bottle in the fridge; This wine actually improved -- richer, sweeter, more complex, not only the initial tastes, ]especially the long, complex, layered finish. Just great. 5*. ]

Regards, Bob

Winemaker's Notes: Tomasello Atlantic County Vidal Blanc Ice Wine 2005 375ml. Partially frozen Vidal Blanc grapes were harvested from our vineyard on December 4, 2003, pressed and used in the fermentation of this Vidal Blanc Ice Wine. The harvest sugar was 36% by weight with the post-fermentation residual sugar at 16%. Wonderful honey and berry character, more subtle than our Riesling Ice Wine. Best served chilled as a dessert wine. http://www.tomasellowinery.com/tasting.html [I'm not why the discrepancy between the vintage and picking date, but assume the picking date is a typo.]

Garden State Wine Growers Association http://www.newjerseywines.com/news.html Tomasello Winery's Vidal Blanc Ice Wine was a triple winner, receiving the Governor's Cup as well the "Best Dessert" Wine and "Best Hybrid" wine awards. Tomasello Winery used partially frozen Vidal Blanc grapes harvested from its vineyard in December 2005 to make the award-winning wine. This wine exhibits a wonderful honey and berry character, and is best served chilled as a dessert wine.

Tomasello Winery, a family-owned operation, was founded in 1933 by Frank Tomasello. Today, third generation winemakers Charles and Jack Tomasello manage an expansive Atlantic County vineyard offering more than 30 different wines and eight types of champagne grown, produced and bottled in the Garden State. With more than seventy acres of Vinifera, French Hybrid and Native American vines, Tomasello Winery is the largest-producing winery in New Jersey.

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One of the sad New Jersey side effects of the US Supreme Court decision on shipping laws: "While Tomasello Winery no longer ships wine in or out of the state of New Jersey, there are a number of retailers who do."

DAmn.....I thought this was about ME!!

Have you ever tried the vintage Port from Alba? it's actually very good and made from the Marechal Foch grape.

Also the GS Wholesalers got McGreevy to sign the Bil prohibiting direct shipping a year prior to the Supreme Court ruling. Definitely self serving but the wineries suffer.

Sorry -- I only know one amazing sweetie -- er, Amazing Sweetie -- in New Jersey. :)

I'll try the port, that sounds interesting. Thanks.

The distributors were really fast off the mark here, prescient it would seem.

This is nice to hear Bob. I'd like to try the Tomasello. Vidal is one of those grapes that gets good marks as a candidate for ice wine. It's late, so the sugar levels can get up there. I'm trying to make pseudo- ice wine from Vidal myself this year. The method involves freezing some of the must and then drawing off the high-sugar concentrate as it thaws. It's a tricky process and I've yet to master it, but the challenge is a lot of fun.

One of the amazing things is the price. Ice wines from the Niagara Peninsula start at double that.

Bob, thanks for the inspiring note.

I have long followed Tomasello out of interest because they make a varietal Villard Noir - a late-ripening red hybrid grape that used to be grown for dry red wine in Ontario up until about 6 years ago. Willow Heights was the winery here in Ontario growing and making that legendary Villard Noir. I wish they had continued it, but I'm sure there was more money to be made growing name-cachet (make that "cash, eh?") grapes, even though the Villard Noir made an excellent Chianti-type red that was fantastic with lasagna in particular.