Ice Wine is, by far, my favorite dessert wine and a rare treat (mostly because of its price tag). It is also an example of how grapes can grow in just about any environment, if you fine the right grape.
Laurie Daniel has an excellent article about and some of the regions in which it thrives:
Most Canadian ice wine (in Canada, it's spelled icewine) is made from riesling or vidal, a French-American hybrid grape, although other grapes such as cabernet franc or ehrenfelser are sometimes used. The wines made from white grapes are very intense and sweet, with flavors (depending on the wine) of apricot, lychee, mango and nectarine. The sweetness is balanced by bracing acidity, which keeps the wine from being cloying. The production of Canadian ice wine is strictly regulated by the Vintners Quality Alliance, denoted on the label by the initials VQA.
Although 40 to 50 vintners in Ontario and the Okanagan produce ice wine, only a few wineries export to the United States. The most important export market is Asia. The winery that has gotten the most attention here is Inniskillin, which has vineyards in both the Niagara Peninsula appellation of Ontario and in the Okanagan Valley. But a few other wineries have begun exporting to the States, usually in tiny quantities.
The article is good and reminds me of the excellent Ice Wine description on the Wine Offensive website.
What I did not know is that there are Cabernet Franc Ice Wines -- now I have some sleuthing to do :).
Laurie Daniel has an excellent article about and some of the regions in which it thrives:
Most Canadian ice wine (in Canada, it's spelled icewine) is made from riesling or vidal, a French-American hybrid grape, although other grapes such as cabernet franc or ehrenfelser are sometimes used. The wines made from white grapes are very intense and sweet, with flavors (depending on the wine) of apricot, lychee, mango and nectarine. The sweetness is balanced by bracing acidity, which keeps the wine from being cloying. The production of Canadian ice wine is strictly regulated by the Vintners Quality Alliance, denoted on the label by the initials VQA.
Although 40 to 50 vintners in Ontario and the Okanagan produce ice wine, only a few wineries export to the United States. The most important export market is Asia. The winery that has gotten the most attention here is Inniskillin, which has vineyards in both the Niagara Peninsula appellation of Ontario and in the Okanagan Valley. But a few other wineries have begun exporting to the States, usually in tiny quantities.
The article is good and reminds me of the excellent Ice Wine description on the Wine Offensive website.
What I did not know is that there are Cabernet Franc Ice Wines -- now I have some sleuthing to do :).
posted by allan at 11:57 PM
4 Comments:
During a recent wine tasting trip in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, I tasted a variety of icewines at Peller Estates. Being a big red wine fan, I found the Cabernet Franc icewine to be the most appealing.
Bryan -- thank you for the recommendation. Peller is one of the Cabernet Franc icewines I came across in my search, but at $50+ a bottle I was hesitant to make the jump without a recommendation.
I took a trip down (from Toronto) to Niagara-on-the-Lake over the weekend to take in some wineries during the Icewine Festival that's going on now.
I didn't try any Cab Franc icewines, but the best icewine I had all day was a Cab Sauv icewine from Pallatine. I don't know if they ship down to the States, but it was fantastic - strawberry and rhubarb and raspberry. Delicious. $100 Canadian was a bit steep though...
If you like the dessert wines, try finding a bottle of Quail's Gate Optima. It's a botrytis affected wine, like Sauternes, but without the big price tag.
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