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The wineries: Stonechurch Winery, Palatine Hills, Konzelmann Estate Winery, Strewn Winery & Cooking School, Stratus Vineyards, Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery.
From the Welland Canal towards the historic town of Niagara-on-the Lake, this Icewine Trail borders the shores of Lake Ontario. The land gently slopes and vineyards and orchards receive abundant sunlight. Temperatures are moderated by lake breezes, and light sandy and silt soils provide good drainage. Grapes and fruit produce full-bodied, flavourful wines.
Niagara’s cold winters offer perfect conditions to produce award-winning Konzelmann Estate Winery Icewines. It’s from this golden nectar-liquid that wine master Herbert Konzelmann creates his rich, luscious dessert wine. Konzelmann continues to win gold medals in national and international competitions, including Grand Gold at VinItaly in Italy, Grand Médaille d’Or at Concours Mondial Bruxelles in Belgium and the coveted Civart Trophy at Vinexpo in France!
Palatine Hills Estate has been producing Icewine since 1998. Their first was the 1998 Vidal, which garnered such awards as Wine of the Year from the Toronto Star. Palatine Hills has now expanded the production into using varietals such as Gewurztraminer and Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 187-acre vineyard location along the Niagara Lakeshore makes for the ability to create intense and expressive Icewine.
Stonechurch Vineyards was born out of a belief that good wine and good friends make a perfect pairing, a philosophy not lost on their multiple award-winning Icewines. This family-owned and operated winery lies on 150-acres of lush vineyards open for self-guided exploration.
Even before Strewn opened its winery doors in 1997, it was growing Vidal grapes for Icewine. Since then, Strewn's Vidal Icewine has won many Canadian and international awards including the Grand Gold Trophy at VinItaly for the best sweet wine of the show. Strewn is also the first winery to make a barrel fermented Riesling Icewine. While the production is small - just a few barrels a year - the taste is divine and Strewn's Barrel Fermented Riesling Icewine has also won international acclaim.
Stratus Vineyards, established in 2000, is dedicated to growing and producing limited quantities of premium wine in the VQA Niagara Lakeshore appellation. The winery is a marvel of efficiency, sustainability and flexibility. Its LEED-certified building is designed to produce limited quantities of wine based on a true gravity-flow system. Stratus Winemaker, Jean-Laurent (J-L) Groux, believes that the art of assemblage is the quintessence of winemaking. "Assemblage" refers to the crafting of several grape varieties to create layered wines of complexity, wines that are a true expression of the vineyard's terroir. In addition to Stratus’ signature ‘Red’ and ‘White’ wines, Stratus was one of the first wineries to distinguish its Icewines through the limited release of assemblage Icewines. The 2008 vintage showcases the critically-acclaimed Stratus Icewine Red and the first-ever Stratus Icewine White. These assemblage Icewines are accompanied by the consistent release of the popular Stratus Riesling Icewine. During the month of January 2010, reserve for Vertical Saturdays@Stratus or Horizontal Sundays@Stratus to sample the signature assemblage Icewines, featuring the 2008 Icewine Red and 2008 Icewine White.
Sunnybrook Farm was the first Canadian winery to create Iced wines made from fruit other than grapes. The fruit (cherries and peaches, for example) used to create their wines is too tender to remain on the trees into the winter. It is harvested at each fruit's peak of perfection, between July and September, and then frozen. It is then gently pressed to extract sweet, concentrated juice. The process is carefully controlled so that the Iced Wines are bursting with full fruit flavour that is not overpowered by sweetness. Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery Iced Cherry wine is always available for tasting.
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