We’ve attended this festival most years over the past 20+ years. This year it runs from January 12th to the 28th. We went on day 1, Friday the 12th, partly with the expectation that it’d be less crowded, and also knowing that due to approaching winter storms and upcoming travel, it was likely the only day we could go. We got across the Canadian border in less than 3 minutes, and upon returning to the U.S. we got through the border again in less than 3 minutes, a huge bonus for our trip. The wineries were not crowded and we had no lines, and were greeted by friendly employees at each of the 6 wineries we visited. We pre-purchased the Friday “Discovery Pass” which allows you to visit 6 of the dozens of participating wineries and try a sample of their ice wine paired with chef created sweet or savory food samples that pair well with the wine. The cost of the Day Pass comes out to about $40 U.S. and is a very good value.
Our first stop was at Wayne Gretzky Estates where we were greeted warmly as their first guests of the day. By the time we left, about a dozen others had come in as well. They were serving their 2019 Vidal Icewine with an apple pie spring roll. It was a good pairing and a good start to our afternoon.
Our second stop was at Pillitteri Estates Winery, a winery that has been in the Niagara-On-The-Lakes region for a long time, but in recent years has gone through some impressive renovations. We look forward to stopping back for regular wine tastings. They had an tasty pairing of Pinot Noir Ice Wine with a sampling of pork belly with a kimchi salad. The wine was excellent and the pork belly was melt in your mouth delicious. The improvements to this winery, where we rarely stopped in recent years due to feeling that there were better options, was the nicest surprise of the day
The third stop of the day was at an old favorite Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery, very well known in the region and one of the first to produce high quality dry red wines. This winery featured their Vidal Icewine with marinated Tandori
chicken on a bed of rice. We enjoyed both the wine and the pairing, and purchased a bottle of the Vidal Icewine.
Our fourth stop was at the Niagara regions most famous and most widely distributed winery, Inniskillin. The Sparkling Vidal Icewiner they served would be perfect for a New Years celebration. The chicken and waffles pairing with a honey mustard sauce was OK, not the best offering of the day, but the wine was great.
Just north of Inniskillin, along the Niagara River, our next stop was at Riverview Cellars Winery, a favorite stop at various wine festival events through the years. Riverview paired their Cab Franc Icewine with a beef slider (mini-burger) with bacon onion jam and blue cheese crumbles. Both wine and food wise, they’ve had better pairings in the past.
Our final stop, and always a classy, excellent winery, was Reif Estate Winery. Reif featured their Vidal icewine with a fresh carved shredded pork slider. Both the wine and slider were excellent.
Through the years the event has always been a first of the year festival to look forward to. We’ve experienced all winter elements through the years which has always added to the overall charm of the event. The second weekend of the event features an ice wine celebration in the village of Niagara-On-The-Lake, with the main street closed to traffic and the street lined with tents serving wines from all over the Niagara region, along with several food vendors. Saturdays tend to be most crowded with thousands coming from the Toronto area to enjoy the event. We’ve always been surprised that we don’t see more cars with New York plates in the winery parking lots. We loved picking the Friday festival starting day and beating the crowds, and will likely try the same schedule next year.
Relative to festivals in the Buffalo-Niagara region, we rate this amongst the best, with great food, drink, customer service, and accommodations. There’s no entrance fee and several ways to enjoy the event other than the Discovery Pass. Our festivals in the year 2024 are off to a great start!
