The annual Niagara Icewine Festival is definitely something all ice wine lovers should attend. With temperatures dipping to -13 dec C for the first weekend of this years two week event, the wineries had no problem keeping the ice wine chilled. The festivities were located in Jordan Village where Main St. was shut down, making room for tents, ice sculptures and a 30 foot wine bar made of ice.

After purchasing some tokens, the smell of curry lead us straight for the food tents where we sampled some hot chick pea curry in an effort to stay warm. Then off to find some wine. Surprised to see a unicyclist navigating the slush and ice and juggling pins as he went. At the ice bar we caught up with Heidi from Fielding Estate Winery, pouring their lime candy elixir, their fabulous Riesling Icewine.

Along with the Riesling Icewine from Fielding, we sampled Inniskillin’s Cabernet Franc Icewine that was out of this world. If you’re not a fan of the traditional vidal icewine, the Cabernet Franc Icewine’s perceived sweetness is a lot less and is more pallatable to those who don’t have as much of a sweet tooth.

We then headed toward the food tent, once again. Pulled pork stuffed in a yorkshire pudding, topped with unions carmelized in Cave Springs vidal icewine was on the menu this time…It was awesome. By now the cold was starting to penetrate the 3 layers of clothing and we decided to check out Cave Springs. After sampling a few more wines we grabbed a Starbucks coffee and headed for the bus back to the parking lot. Overall, this was a very cool way to celebrate and enjoy Ontario’s unique treasure.