Well, that was a good decision on my part.
I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, or what, but I somehow missed the information in my 27-plus years of living: Niagara-on-the-Lake strikingly resembles Napa Valley (in my mind, that is, as I have not been to Napa Valley--wait for blogs from that trip to appear approximately one year from now). Two main roads, Niagara Stone and Niagara Parkway, are home to miles upon miles of vineyards and wineries. The product: icewine.
One of the most beautiful areas I have seen in quite some time (not including the South of France) is home to the mass production of icewine. We toured a few wineries, took pictures, tasted the harvests, and moseyed around.
A few things we learned:
• Canada produces approximately 85%-90% of the world's icewine
• icewine has a much more syrupy texture than any red or white
• it is also a dessert wine (drizzle on pound cake or ice cream)
• grapes must be frozen solid before picking in order to make icewine
• the amount of sugar in icewine gives it a longer shelf life (it naturally preserves!)
• one winery we went to, Pillitteri, produces (alone) 20% of said 85%-90% of icewine coming from this region in Canada
• Dan Akroyd is a wino (!)
• he partnered up with 20 Bees (a fantastic little winery), using the grapes they harvest and selling his wine (and using his name) for good, honest business
• the fine people of Ontario can only purchase alcohol through two government-regulated warehouses
• going through customs here, as opposed to Niagara Falls, is much less of a hassle; especially when trying to bring alcohol back into the United States
I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, or what, but I somehow missed the information in my 27-plus years of living: Niagara-on-the-Lake strikingly resembles Napa Valley (in my mind, that is, as I have not been to Napa Valley--wait for blogs from that trip to appear approximately one year from now). Two main roads, Niagara Stone and Niagara Parkway, are home to miles upon miles of vineyards and wineries. The product: icewine.
One of the most beautiful areas I have seen in quite some time (not including the South of France) is home to the mass production of icewine. We toured a few wineries, took pictures, tasted the harvests, and moseyed around.
A few things we learned:
• Canada produces approximately 85%-90% of the world's icewine
• icewine has a much more syrupy texture than any red or white
• it is also a dessert wine (drizzle on pound cake or ice cream)
• grapes must be frozen solid before picking in order to make icewine
• the amount of sugar in icewine gives it a longer shelf life (it naturally preserves!)
• one winery we went to, Pillitteri, produces (alone) 20% of said 85%-90% of icewine coming from this region in Canada
• Dan Akroyd is a wino (!)
• he partnered up with 20 Bees (a fantastic little winery), using the grapes they harvest and selling his wine (and using his name) for good, honest business
• the fine people of Ontario can only purchase alcohol through two government-regulated warehouses
• going through customs here, as opposed to Niagara Falls, is much less of a hassle; especially when trying to bring alcohol back into the United States
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