If there’s one bonus to staying in the northern clime of Toronto Ontario, Canada in mid-January rather than heading south, it’s the opportunity to attend the Niagara Icewine Festival and  indulge in icewine, gourmet cuisine and spectacular winter scenery of Wine Country Ontario. Sure, it can get bone-chillingly cold (and Niagara Falls itself can actually get frozen!) but that’s just a reminder of what it means to be a real Canadian and is all the more reason to warm up with some VQA icewine.

Brrr…but beautiful! View of the American Falls from Niagara Falls in winter

In fact,  when researching a story for MasterCard’s Priceless Cities,  I enjoyed the Niagara Icewine Festival so much I decided to buy a warmer parka and return again every year. Check out my story on Chill out at the Niagara Icewine Festival: To Do List for an Unforgettable Winter Weekend for a rundown on what not to miss.

Here are a few of the highlights of what to do at the Niagara Icewine Festival from January 12-28,2018.

Xerox Icewine Gala at Niagara Icewine Festival 

I couldn’t agree more with the sentiments of this Ice sculpture of Ontario cheese

This swanky evening (taking place on January 8, 2018) is an opportunity to sample rare icewines, dance to live music, indulge in fabulous cuisine and gawk at Niagara Falls lit up in its technicolour glory.  The event features pouring stations from at least 30 different Niagara wineries. They are pouring icewines as well as red and wine VQA wines. Some of my favourite must-visit pouring stations include Pillitteri Estates Winery for their Reserve Vidal Icewine and Peller for their Andrew Peller Signature Series Cabernet Franc.

The Xerox Icewine Gala happens at the Fallsview Casino Resort so if you stay at the Hilton Fallsview you can wear your sparkliest clothing and walk through the handy connecting link without having to wear your winter boots and parka.

Best Hotel at the Niagara Icewine Festival

When the Xerox Icewine Gala wraps up, you can even pop into the casino and try your hand at the slot machines. I’m notorious for losing money as fast as I can pull the slot machine handle but the flashing lights, opulent architecture and ching-ching of everyone else winning big bucks does make an exciting wrap-up to the night.

Ice wine? Yes, please.

Twenty Valley Winter Winefest 

You’ll want to bundle up for this event held in the pretty town of Jordan Village, conveniently located just off the QEW, between January 12-14th.  If you haven’t been to the Twenty Valley area before, it’s worth staying an extra night so you can hike to the pretty Balls Falls waterfalls, explore the quaint shops and make several stops at the Upper Canada Cheese Company until you’ve eaten so many free samples of artisanal cheese that they ask you to leave. (Stock up on Niagara Gold – a buttery French-style semi-firm cheese). Once you arrive in Jordan, you’ll be pleased to see handy shuttle buses to take you from the parking lots to the festival itself. We parked at the Jordan Firehall at 3763 19th Street Jordan and walked in an attempt to wear off a few calories from the previous evening’s gala.

Bundle up at the Twenty Valley Winter Winefest

Once there, make a quick stop to purchase your drink and food tokens (and a photo-op with one of the ice sculptures) before heading into the warming tent. Tokens are a bargain as most items cost just two or three tokens. With 25 food and wine stations to choose from, it’s tough to narrow it down to just a few but last year, we indulged in preserved peaches, ate wood-fired pizza and sampled a variety of delicious VQA icewines.

Firepits at Twenty Valley Winter Winefest

How to Use Your Niagara Discovery Pass

Use your Discovery pass to sample wine and food combos at the Niagara Wine Festival

To wrap up the balance of January, you can continue your Niagara Icewine Festival  celebrations with the purchase of a Discovery Pass, a magical passport that allows you to visit as many wineries as you can pack into a weekend on a variety of wine routes through the Niagara Wine Country Region. Each passport offers a deliciously inventive food and wine pairing ( there are non-alcoholic choices for drivers) at participating wineries.  For example, in 2018 one stop at Megalomaniac Winery on the Discovery Passport gets you a sample of icewine and a honey infused drizzle over top of a two-bite goat cheese, apple and pecan tart. It pairs beautifully with their 2014 Coldhearted Riesling Icewine. The best way to do the Niagara Icewine Festival is to plan your stops and driving route in advance based on the wines and foods you want to try on the Discovery Pass Listings

What to Eat at the Niagara Icewine Festival

Artisanal products at Twenty Valley Winter Winefest

Your Discovery Pass Gives you access to some delicious food. Some of the exciting combos in the culinary line-up in the past have included include Chicken and Waffles, spread with Riesling Icewine Butter at Iniskillin Winery as well as the crowd-pleasing fave, the opportunity to roast an icewine marshmallow over an open fire at Pellar Estates. I had a hard time tearing myself away from the cheesy chile con queso nachos topped with crumbled bacon and blue cheese at Fielding Winery or the Late Harvest Vidal tucked inside a Chocolate-dipped Strawberry Cup at Pondview Estate Winery. In 2018, my top choice would be Creekside Estates to try their Icewine-infused baby bratwurst topped with your choice of Icewine sauerkraut or spicy mustard.

Interested in more news about the Niagara Icewine Festival? Follow me during the event on Twitter and Instagram at @atastefortravel.

For more ideas on how to enjoy  Ontario in the winter or summer, check out these posts on:

Celebrate Winter at  Le Scandinave Spa at Blue Mountain 

Icewine and Cycling at Niagara on the Lake, Ontario 

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