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 ice wine, gourmet cuisine and spectacular winter scenery.  Sure, it can get bone-chillingly cold (and Niagara Falls itself can actually freeze!) 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 Niagara ice wine.

Here’s our guide to what to do, where to stay, the best ice wines to try and more at the Niagara Icewine Festival:

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

What is Ice Wine?

But first, what is Canadian  ice wine? It’s basically a dessert wine produced from frozen grapes. While ice wine might sound easy to produce, it actually requires a combination of magical timing and careful production. At least three full nights of below -10C weather is needed for ice wine grapes to release their unique concentration of sugars, acids, flavours, and aromas into the juice.

One of the cool things about the Niagara Icewine Festival is the opportunity to see frozen grapes on the vine

In the middle of the coldest night, grape pickers from ice wine wineries don their warmest winter gear and head into the vineyards to hand-pick the grapes. The clusters are then gently pressed, with each grape yielding just one drop of the prized juice. The labour intensive process and low yield means the cost of ice wine is higher than regular wines.

Grapes that are harvested  outside of these strict requirements are known as “late harvest wines” which means that although both ice wine and late harvest wines are sweet dessert wines,  all ice wines are “late harvest wines” but not all late harvest wines are ice wines because thy didn’t actually freeze on the vines before being picked.

Types of Ice Wine in Niagara Ontario

While most people are familiar with Vidal ice wine, one of the things you’ll quickly learn at the Niagara Icewine Festival is that there are actually many other types of ice wines. Grapes that grow well in cold climates are popular grape varietals used for making ice wine. This means you can also find  Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and  Gewürztraminer.

Iniskillin ice wine at Niagara Icewine Festival

Not all wineries produce each type of ice wine and some ice wines are produced in such small quantities, they’re not available at the LCBO ( or Duty Free Shops) and you can only sample them at the wineries or at Niagara Icewine Festival events. This is where the fun begins.

Best Niagara Ice Wine to Choose

Ice wine? Yes, please.

What does Niagara ice wine taste like? While all ice wines feature a highly concentrated, sweet flavour, they range in colour from bright ruby red with aromas of cherry, red licorice and raspberry of a Cabernet Sauvignon ice wine to the citrus notes of a Chardonnay ice wine.

In order to decide on the best ice wine for your palate you need to sample a range of ice wines. You might be surprised to discover that although Vidal ice wine is the most widely available ice wine, there are other ice wines you enjoy more. The key to enjoying ice wine is to serve it very cold.

Xerox Icewine Gala at Niagara Icewine Festival

Sample rare as well as popular ice wines at the Xeroz Ice Wine Gala

The swanky ice wine gala evening in early January 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.

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.

The Xerox Icewine Gala takes place 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.

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).

Bundle up at the Twenty Valley Winter Winefest

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.

Firepits at 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 ice wines.

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.

The Discovery Pass allows you to sample a variety of ice wine and food pairings

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.

Best Niagara Icewine Festival Hotels

Enjoy fabulous views at one of the Niagara Icewine Festival hotels

The Niagara Icewine Festival is an adult-oriented ( 19+)  weekend trip best suited for couples or a girlfriends’ getaway  so your best option is to choose a hotel that’s aimed at an older crowd rather than one of the family-friendly hotels with waterslides near the Clifton Hill arcade zone. One important consideration when choosing which hotel to stay at  during the Niagara Icewine Festival is deciding on which weekend you’ll be attending. The outdoor festivals  take place on different weekends in different location so you either want  to time your visit to coincide with the festival location or be prepared to drive.

The  Niagara Falls Icewine Festival takes place at the Scotiabank Convention Centre on the final weekend in January which means you can choose from a range of hotels within the Niagara Falls area.

Niagara Falls Hilton Fallsview: Located in the Fallsview area, this modern tower is situated overlooking Niagara Falls and is ideal for exploring the parkway and natural attractions ( or going to the Fallsview Casino). It’s not close to the Clifton Hill arcade zone so if you’re looking to hit up fun zone attractions like dinosaur mini-golf  and ferris wheels, be prepared to drive. If not, you’ll be happy to be in the peaceful part of town.

Check prices at Hilton Hotel Niagara Falls Fallsview

Brockamour Manor B & B: Stay at this historic guest house and you’ll be tempted to start browsing real estate listings so you can own your own piece of classic Niagara-on-the-Lake architecture. Built in 1809, it’s well-located on King Street just a few steps away from everything at the Niagara-on-the-Lake, a town that’s a scenic 20-minute drive along the Niagara Parkway from Niagara Falls. The rates are reasonable and breakfast is extra-special. Read a full review at Icewine and Cycling at Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Check prices at Brockamour Manor B & B  

Travel Guide to Niagara Icewine Festival

Assuming you don’t try to get to Niagara  from Toronto in the middle of rush hour (4-6 pm), it should take you no more than 90 minutes to arrive in the heart of Niagara Wine Country. Here are some links to help you plan your trip:

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

Niagara Icewine Festival Cost: Discovery Passes are sold at $45 plus HST each and contain eight experience vouchers valued at $10 each, redeemable at participating wineries. Niagara Wine Festival

Niagara Falls Icewine Festival: This icewine tasting event takes place during the final weekend in January within the Scotiabank Convention Centre. It’s a ticketed event that is not part of the Niagara Icewine Festival Discovery Pass program but has a separate  cost. The cost in 2018 was $65 and $75 at the door which includes 3 hours of wine tastings, a commemorative glass and entertainment. Although there is an outdoor “winter wonderland” zone much of the activities take place indoors within the convention centre, making it quite a bit different ( and warmer) than the outdoor festivals.

Official Website:  Wine Country Ontario

Ontario Travel: Get maps, planning and travel tips and inspiration from the Official Ontario Tourism website.

Discovery Pass Tickets: Buy tickets and plan your route at the Discovery Pass Listings Page.

Niagara Falls: If you’re visiting the Niagara Icewine Festival you don’t want to miss experiencing Niagara Falls, Canada. Here are 10 Amazing Things to do in Niagara Falls so you don’t miss a thing.

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For more ideas on things to do near Toronto in 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 

Sip Moonshine and Craft Beer on Couples Getaway 

Why Hockley Valley Resort Should be Your Next Weekend Getaway 

23 Things to Do in The Kawarthas 

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