Niagara Icewine Festival

The 12th Niagara Icewine Festival will take place Jan. 19-28, 2007, in the Niagara region of southern Ontario. In addition to the tastings and events that will be held at Niagara's various wineries, special events will also be held at the Sheraton Hotel overlooking Niagara Falls, the Niagara College Teaching Winery, and the square in St. Catherines, ON. The 10-day event will attract some 150,000 visitors to the Niagara region for a festival of sweet indulgence.

Icewine is the flagship product of Ontario's wine region. It is made from grapes frozen at temperatures below -8°C/17°F . When the grapes are crushed, much of the H2O remains inside the grape in the form of ice crystals. The juice that is collected from the crushing process is thus more concentrated and contains higher percentages of sugar and other flavoring components than juice from unfrozen grapes. The result is a very sweet, dense dessert wine that is a pleasure to drink.

If you will be in southern Ontario or western New York during this time, be sure to check out this special event. If you can't make it, stay tuned to Corks and Curds and I will tell you all about it.