Ice Wine

This past weekend I had an extremely enjoyable Friday night in. I stayed at my parent’s house and it was wonderful to just get out of the city and relax. One of my friends came over and we went grocery shopping, made dinner and played cards. Absolutely amazing! Of course with a night in, there is always the need for wine and we decided to open up a bottle of 2001 Henry of Pelham Special Harvest ice wine. This was something that had been aging for a number of years and the cork was actually beginning to crystallize a bit. Basically, we opened it just in time and saved it from being spoiled within the upcoming months/year.

The wine was a deep gold with a super high viscosity and had the perfect amount of sweetness, tiny bit of tartness and was all in all perfect. I would highly recommend any ice wine (especially Henry of Pelham!), and would suggest that it can definitely be used in lieu of dessert. Due to the sweetness of the ice wine, it can sometimes be difficult to pair with a heavy dessert. If you want to enjoy both things, then I would just suggest some light macaroons are biscuits to go along with the ice wine.

 Ice wine is something that we, as Canadians, can enjoy and something that can be found in any LCBO. Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries have simply mastered the ice wine technique, and I personally feel that the taste and quality of the wine is just getting better with each harvest. I would suggest that everyone try an ice wine at some point (or multiple points), especially when we get into the summer months. There is really nothing better than sitting on a balcony, sipping an ice cold glass of ice wine.

Happy Drinking!

HM