Ice wine and other stuff

ICE WINE, ANY ONE?

Ice wine is a Canadian wine produced mainly around Niagara-on-the-Lake, in Ontario and in some valleys of British Columbia.

It was discovered accidentally in 1794 in the German region of Franconia. Growers pressed frozen grapes and were pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Ice wine was first produced in Canada in 1973 and commercialized in 1978.

Ice wine is made from ripe and healthy grapes that froze on the vine, usually in December or January.

The temperature must fall to at least -8 degrees Celcius for the grapes to be harvested. They are harvested early in the morning or late in the evening.

Employees at one Quebec vineyard had to enlist family and friends to work through the night to harvest the grapes before the temperature rose again.

The grapes must be pressed the very next day while water is still frozen inside. When pressed, only the concentrated sweet juice is preserved, since its freezing point is lower than that of water.

Ice wine is very expensive ( a half bottle cost at least 50$ ) due to the risks the producers face, the way the grapes are harvested, the low yield and the high demand.

Ice wind should be enjoyed chilled at a temperature ranging from 4 degrees to 6 degrees Celsius. Begin by pouring it in a balloon glass to enjoy its peach and apricot aromas. It can be enjoyed either as an aperitif or with dessert.

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This article on Ice Wine reminds me of our trip to Niagara..The day before, Rain and I were combing Yonge street for those posters advertising day trips to Niagara. No luck. Little did we know, it was winter time and no bus excursion operators were in their right mind to advertise trips to the falls..

Upon reaching the Library, Miguelita went online. She did not want to dissapoint Rain who came all the way from Vancouver. One of her agenda is to visit the Falls. So a library staff advised her to go online and search for Niagara trips..Lots of links came up..It turned out that even if the bus trips are packed up for the winter season, smaller operators are still in business. So she contacted one, and thus she arranged with one of them for a whole day trip the next day. For extra 15$ , the operator said, we could be picked up right in our house, and be delivered too after the trip is over..

So at 8:45 the next day, a senior sporting a broad smile knocked on our door. It was the tour guide. The ride was a mini van the maximum capacity of which is 7 passengers. In the front seat was a student from Argentina. She is on student visa from her country. There are many of such students in Canada. She sat on front, Miguelita and Rain were on the seat for two on the second row and I had the whole seat for myself. I was able to put up my legs and take a few cat naps on the way. Heck, I have been to Niagara already several times since I arrived in Toronto. But never on winter time.

The guide told us this is just a special trip..He charged cash, no cards honored. Means he won't pay any tax either and he splits the total cash payment with another partner. The other partner regularly call him just to be sure we did not meet any mishap like sliding into an icy ditch or something.

On the way he did his usual tourist talk, re: Niagara Falls at first, especially the knuckle heads who tried going down the falls in some container, just for kicks or publicity..

"Now a days," he said, "If you try that kind of thing, automatically you will be fined $10,000 plus 6 months in jail.." In the past, it was the headache of the Niagara Park Commission to look after those nuts who seem to be attracted to the falls, like a moth to a candle flame. Many tried the stunt in various "containers." and all of these are on display at a certain mall in downtown Niagara. One is shaped like a mini submarine..One is like an iron sphere, one is like a yatch. And the trouble is, once a person survived a stunt, he would like to try it again!

"Now," he said, "we are going to do some wine tasting. Tourists who come to Niagara just to see the Falls would miss a lot if they do not drop by these wineries," he said. "Well, yes, you come here to the Falls. But after you have seen it, then that's it..Chances are you will get bored and you would head to the Casino and lose your entire money, even the shirt off your back. So there is nothing like joining these tours. Very educational.."

He has a contact with a certain winery. He would bring tourists in and because the wines there are much lower in price, then visitors will eventually buy a few bottles. But he said, he does not get any kind of cut from the management. Well,  I saw him drinking a yellow colored liquid from a glass wine. I was tempted to ask: "Aren't you supposed not to drink and drive?"

"Oh this?" he said smilingly.."This is just fruit juice.." It was a full glass. I did not question him further..

So Miguelita bought a box of ice wines, a 6 pack. Each bottle, very small and thin would come down to about $20 a bottle. IN LCBO stores, it would go up to about 35-45.

The bartender showed us how to sample a wine. Check the colour, check for bubbles, shake, smell, sip, shake again, etc. After our driver gulped down his glass of "fruit juice," we took some pictures. Many were not published in my Blog. Rain would say, while we were checking the photos in my Computer after we got home.."Do not publish that..Don't like how I look.." Or, "my hair's all messed up.." Well, she is right in the path of a strong wind beside the Falls..

She's the subject, so she has the right to say YES or NO.

There were ckose to 90 shots taken during the whole 3 day holiday. Burned them all in a CD-R because sending them to her to Vancouver via dial-up would take months assuming my 3-year old 'puter won't crash and "burn" in the process.---#