Good Things Come in Small Packages

 

This year’s 15th annual Icewine Festival recently ended in Niagara – producers showed their latest offerings at their wineries and at street fairs in Jordan and Niagara on the Lake. The lack of snow in the towns made it less appropriately wintry than usual, but the above-freezing temps were sure appreciated. 

 

The most common (and lowest priced) icewine is vidal-based. The hybrid grape makes so-so table wine but really comes into its own as icewine. It’s a thick-skinned grape that easily survives extended “hang time” on the vines until the harvest in December. Icewine rules say grapes cannot be picked until the temperature falls below -8C, which usually happens by mid-December. The grapes are often picked in the dead of night as daytime temperatures are higher and the sun can cause   melting even if the air temperature is below freezing.  Riesling icewines are more likely to be sublime and worth the extra money, but they don’t always deliver.

 

Klaus Reif of Reif Estates summarized the difference between the two, saying that riesling is “almost always botrytis affected” in Niagara, and that it’s generally “lighter and more elegant on the nose, more delicate on the palate,” and often the signature “petrol” note of riesling can slip though. Botrytis causes what the French call “noble rot”, and that is what gives pricey Sauternes wines their unique flavour. Vidal, on the other hand, tends to be “thicker and richer”. Flavour wise, expect more tropical fruit, peach and apricot. We tried a range of Reif Estate icewines paired with various cheeses and their very own “homemade” raisins – icewine works beautifully with strong cheeses, especially blue. 

 

Icewine sales have stalled since the economic downturn – both exports and domestic sales are down – and producers have been innovating, with some interesting results.  One of the most intriguing is Peller Estate’s latest take on sparkling icewine. I haven’t been too impressed with sparkling icewines and it remains a marginal category, but Peller has come up with an icewine-infused sparkling wine. In other words, it’s a traditional sparkling wine made from chardonnay and pinot noir, but “enhanced by a burst of flavour from Vidal Icewine”. It really works: rich icewine flavours of apple, peach and a hint of tropical fruit are front and centre, but the fact that it’s mainly a zesty dry sparkler keeps it fresh. 

 

Pumping up the alcohol levels considerably is Vineland Estates’ variation: Vice. Cool name, cool product. The label looks a bit like the tattoo a sultry stripper, a smart one who’s supplementing her OSAP, might choose. Vineland owners got the idea after seeing that bartenders were making vodka-based icewine martinis. Brian Schmidt, Vice-President of Vineland Estates and also winemaker, said “we thought we could just mix it in advance and get the balance right,” he said. To work that out, Vineland Estates got together a group of bartenders – sorry, mixologists – and had them try different combinations. The final blend is 60% vodka and 40% icewine. The Vineland bosses were surprised (and no doubt pleased) that the cheaper, flavourless vodkas worked better than fancy premiums like Grey Goose and Belvedere. The vodka they use is made locally in Niagara.  Apparently Vice has been selling well in the 905, especially north of Toronto. Where’s the party at? Woodbridge Shore!

 

On a more oenophilic note, icewine is also great for aging. The finest aged wines are special because they change for the better, in the bottle. Guess what – icewine does too. I’ve tasted icewines from as far back as the 1980s and while they age well, they’re not going to beat the Sauternes from Bordeaux – along with Tokais from Hungary, the most similar “dessert” wines – in terms of longevity. 

 

For icewine there seems to be a sweet spot (no pun intended) at the 10-15 year mark. Vineland Estates put on a “vertical tasting” of a selection of their icewines, mostly vidal, for us, with the oldest being from 1992. The group liked pretty much all the wines, but I noted that the favourites were the 1997 and 1999. A good aged icewine offers more complexity and smoothness, and includes “aged” aromas and flavours like raisins and dried fruit, yet retains an acidic freshness and the typical honey notes, and hints of fresher fruit too. They’re more clarified, less in-your-face, than the fresh-fruit/big fruit babies. So don’t feel guilty about not drinking that icewine gift you got last Christmas: sit on it for a decade and bring it out when you want to impress. With icewines, as with any other wine, a sure sign of “too old” is notes of oxidation: sort of musty, fewer fruit flavours. That was true of the oldest of the Vineland icewines in our vertical, but in each case I noted “a bit,” so they weren’t undrinkable.

 

There are also the upstarts: red icewines. Usually made from cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon, they’re a whole different thing. Lots of strawberry or raspberry fruit usually – sometimes so strong and sweet you think you’re back at Dairy Queen having a sundae – but also, in good ones, rhubarb and more complex flavours can show up and there’s fresh Niagara acidity to leaven it. These wines seemed like a joke a few years ago, but they’re getting better too – like the Stratus one listed below. 

 

 

In addition to the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon icewine, which had lots of strawberry, a bit of rhubarb, and which was sweet and fresh, we had vidal icewines from a 15+ year period. We were on a timetable so the notes are brief. In each case it’s the Vineland Estates Vidal icewine, group favourites in boldface.

 

2006 – apples, raisin, some tropical notes, bit of brown sugar

2001 – richer more caramel, butterscotch, more viscous

2000 – sherry/madiera flavours, nutmeg, lots of acidity

1999 – fresh taste in a lighter style, combined with honeyed raisin and grapey notes

1998 – oranges, marmalade and a bit of grape 

1997 – nice tropical fruit layer over raisins and honey, good acidity and balance

1993 – bit of oxidation here, fresh acidity, an orange note

1992 – cloudy and darker, baked raisins, bit of oxidation on nose

 

 

Suzanne Janke took us through a tasting of the Stratus offerings in the private tasting room that overlooks the vineyards. 

 

2008 Stratus Riesling: Rich aromatics with some darker, even bready notes. Ripe lemon, baked apple. Very sweet apple notes and lemon drops.

 

2008 Stratus Icewine White (50/50 semillon/riesling): Fuller bodied, more tropical fruit notes, pineapple and more lemon drops

 

2008 Stratus Semillon Icewine: likely the only semillon icewine in Ontario (or anywhere!), this one has a more muted nose with less fruit. Great mouthfeel, very sweet, fruit notes tilt towards tropical.

 

2008 Stratus Icewine Red: interesting nose of darker strawberry notes, rich and ripe. Fuller bodied on the palate, but the acidity is high. Very sweet: hint of red lifesavers candy (do they still exist?)

 

Next time you’re having a dinner party, pick up some icewine to go with the after dinner cheese plate – and make sure there’s some blue cheese.  Icewine is best in small quantities – one or two glasses is all you need.