Niagara Icewine Festival When Gold meets Cold January 16th-25th, 2009

A very typical trait about being Canadian is that we seem to always be talking about the weather! And being Canadian, The Wine Ladies know a big part of the conversation is how cold and snowy the winter gets here in Ontario.

Pictured above:The Friday Night Grand Tasting Gala at the Pillar and Post Inn!

A very typical trait about being Canadian is that we seem to always be talking about the weather! And being Canadian, The Wine Ladies know a big part of the conversation is how cold and snowy the winter gets here in Ontario. Well we say, “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow and get very cold, in fact to at least -8 degrees Celsius”. That’s because, the VQA rules are, in order to pick the grapes to make ICEWINE in all of it’s golden splendor, “Baby, its gotta be cold outside”.

Joining us in studio January 17th, 2009 was Hillary Dawson from the Wine Council of Ontario. The Wine Council of Ontario www.winesofontario.org is an important non-profit association that acts as a liaison between the grape growers, the Ontario wineries and government groups. The Council represents 81 winery properties in Ontario. Hillary came into the studio to tell our listeners about the highlights of the 14th Niagara Icewine Festival.

Below: Hillary Dawson – Wine Council of Ontario

For ten days in January the Niagara region is transformed into a wintry wonderland, celebrating one of Canada’s most cherished products, Ontario Icewine. Hillary filled us in on the many events that were to take place over 2 weekends and 9 days (January 16th-25th, 2009) at the 14th Niagara Icewine Festival.

From Gala evening toasts to chestnut roasts, ornate ice bars and winery tours, the 14th Niagara Icewine Festival offered plenty for every taste.

Some of the highlights from this year’s festival in the 1st weekend included, The Annual Xerox Icewine Gala January 16, 2009, a spectacular evening showcasing 30 of Ontario’s premiere wines set in the Fallsview Casino, to the Twenty Valley Icewine Bar January 17th and 18th, 2009, a 30 foot decorative Ice bar in Jordan, a quaint village nestled at the foot of
the escarpment.

The 2nd weekend included The Icewine Classic Weekend Experience, January 23, 2009 to January 25, 2009 An all-inclusive weekend including two nights luxury accommodation at the Pillar and Post, all Niagara Icewine Festival activities and an exclusive Classic Program of Events.

Georgia and I attended the Pillar and Post Inn Friday Night Grand Tasting Gala. This spectacular Vintage Inn property was a beautiful setting for a sparkling evening of sumptuous cuisine, stunning wines and Icewines and even royalty! We were introduced to this year’s reigning Grape King Lou Puglisi. Not often are we in the presence of royalty!

Below: Grape King Lou Puglisi 2008-2009 Grape Growers of Ontario

After the Gala we headed down to the unveiling of the outdoor Icewine Lounge where we sipped specialty Icewine Martinis at the Apres Event on Queen Street in historic downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the incredible array of events that take place at the annual Niagara Icewine Festival. If you missed this year’s event, make sure you block in your calendars for next year. The 15th annual Niagara Icewine Festival will take place January 15th, 2010 – January 24th, 2010. Folks travel from all over the world to attend this 1st class event and we have it all here at our back door. So like we say,” Baby its cold outside and that’s a -ok!”

Visit the Niagara Wine Festival website.