Winter Wonderland: Niagara Ice Wine Festival

When Ontario's Gold Meets Canadian Cold

The Niagara Icewine Festival is an annual 10-day celebration of icewine. Special wine-tasting events take place across the region and wineries are pouring plenty of their finest. Icewine is a sweet dessert wine produced using grapes frozen on the vine and Canada is the world's largest icewine producer. The festival kicks off with a gala evening of dinner and Canadian wines and icewines at the Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls.

Raise a toast to this 55 year old Niagara Tradition. There truly is no better time to explore the 15,000 acres of vineyards in the Niagara Region than during one of our seasonal Grape & Wine Festivals. The Niagara Grape & Wine Festival is a non-profit organization that runs a series of seasonal wine festivals in the Niagara region. The Niagara Icewine Festival, the Niagara New Vintage Festival, and the Niagara Wine Festival attract 100,000's of visitors to the area each year. Five times voted one of North America's Top 100 Events by the A.B.A. and Ontario's Cultural Event of the Year by Attractions Canada (1999, 2000 and 2002).

Vice, Vice Baby!

At the fest, WOMAN.ca previewed the new Vice Martini. And oh my, how do we love thee? The owners of the highly regarded Niagara winery, Vineland Estates, had a great idea. To combine their award winning VQA Niagara icewine with pure Canadian vodka and create the world’s first single pour vodka icewine martini.

Devilishly simple and wonderfully elegant, the resulting nectar was nothing less than luxuriously decadent indulgence in a glass. Combining vodka with icewine and serving it near freezing gives this cocktail an altogether delicious twist. We love it!

Icewine often described as a “liquid gold”, this aromatic sweet and silky smooth desert wine is created from grapes that have naturally frozen on the vines. A rare and special treat to appreciate by itself or with less-sweet desserts.

So take a picturesque drive down a world-famous wine route, savour an exquisite vintage, experience in Niagara Wine Country. For ten days in January the Niagara region is transformed into a wintry wonderland, celebrating one of Canada's most cherished products, Ontario Icewine. From Gala evenings, outdoor Icewine cafe’s, ornate ice bars and Icewine Dinners, to roasting chestnuts, frozen grape picking and carriage rides along Niagara's famed wine route, the 11th edition of the Niagara Icewine Festival offers plenty for every taste.

Go: Various wineries and locations in the Niagara Falls region. See maps

Cost: Cost is per event. People planning to attend many of the events may benefit from buying the Icewine Discovery Passport.

By Si Si Penaloza, Editorial Director, WOMAN.ca

Si Si Penaloza
		About the author:
		Si Si Penaloza is the Editorial Director of WOMAN.ca. Prior to joining WOMAN.ca's powerhouse executive team, Si Si cultivated strong ties with editors, producers and publishers at all major Canadian media outlets. She is a seasoned print, radio and broadcast specialist. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from Bowdoin College in Maine, Si Si moved to Manhattan to study Film at New York University. Her strengths lie in contextualizing relevant content for a broad audience. She's driven to stay competitive and at the top of the market - commissioning exclusive features and launching bold initiatives. Contact Si Si at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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