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2008 - Wine Writer-

Wine Writer For Your Reading Pleasure

The Niagara region's Icewineries: wine tasting in a new light




Wine tours have long been popular in the realm of unique vacations; but for anyone who'd like to take the novelty of such a getaway to a whole new level, Canada's Niagara region - and its famous Icewineries - await.



One of the most intriguing aspects of a wine tour is learning the history behind a type of wine, a winery or a region that yields the wine - none of which are an exception when it comes to Icewines. The discovery of Icewine in 1794 was accidental when, out of necessity, winemakers in Germany pressed frozen grapes - the resulting juice of which was found to have an unusually high concentration of sugar. It wasn't until the mid 1800s, however, that the winery intentionally began to produce Icewine for distribution.



The production of Icewine did not extend to Canada until 1973, after which time the venture proved to be a huge success. Today, Canada - and particularly, Ontario's Niagara Peninsula region - is the largest producer of Icewine, a product that's often referred to as "liquid gold". That's because the juice from Icewine grapes composes about one-fifth the amount that would be extracted from unfrozen grapes. For instance, if the grapes of an unfrozen vine produced a bottle of wine, the grapes of a frozen vine would produce just one glass of Icewine.



The Icewine harvest begins in the winter months - typically, in December - once temperatures drop below -10 to -13 degrees Celsius and grapes have frozen on the vines. Natural freezing concentrates the sugars, acids and extracts, thus intensifying the flavors of the juice; then, as the frozen grapes are pressed, the highly concentrated, sweet juice is extracted. The natural water portion, however, remains in the grape skins as ice crystals. The juice is then fermented very slowly over the course of several months to produce Icewine. Typical grapes used for ice wine production include: Riesling Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and the red grape Cabarnet Franc.



The Niagara region hosts an ice wine festival every January to celebrate the fruit of each year's harvest. Locals and tourists alike can indulge in ice bars, frozen art exhibits and tours through Niagara's famous wine routes - alongside, of course, a taste of some of the region's most exquisite Icewines.



If you're considering taking an Icewine tasting tour in the Niagara region this winter, rest assured that there are plenty of fantastic options for accommodation in Niagara Falls. The Doubletree Resort Lodge & Spa Fallsview, Niagara Falls, for example, features an award-winning VQA wine list, including Icewine by the glass or bottle at Buchanans Chophouse. So you can get started on the wine tasting before you even hit the festival or your tour!



By touring Niagara's Ice wineries, you'll learn about the unique processes involved in making Icewines, as well as have the opportunity to try some of the most exceptional wines in the world. So what are you waiting for? Take the novelty of a wine-tasting tour to a whole new level - experience the Niagara region's famous Icewines.


About the Author


Martin McAllister is an online freelance journalist. He lives in Scotland.

A Short Wine Writer Summary

The Niagara region's Icewineries: wine tasting in a new light



Wine tours have long been popular in the realm of unique vacations; but for anyone who'd like to take the novelty of such a getaway to a whole new le...


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Wine Writer Items For Viewing

Louis Affre Bourgogne Haute Cotes de Nuits Futs de Chene


The wines of Dufouleur in Nuits St. Georges are some of the most consistent in Burgundy's Cote D'Or. We have been offering the firm's "Louis Affre" label for several years, and this recent addition is another admirable French Chardonnay from their portfolio of fine wines. We found this "futs de chene" dry white wine to have oak flavors that have been well integrated with the ripe fruit, and not domineering. This is a well rounded and deeply flavored Chardonnay from the upper vineyards of the Cotes de Nuits which can hold its own from fine wines from Chassagne or Meursault. Great gift! BHCN02 BHCN02


Price: 37.99 USD



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Greek Food and Wine, The Quick and the Med:

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Port Wine
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12:50 AM

August 2008 - German Wine

A Featured German Wine Article

Building Wine Racks To Safely Store Your Wine


Some people run the other direction when it comes to woodwork. Fortunately, when it comes to building wine racks, you don?t have to feel so intimidated. This type of woodwork is probably one of the easiest jobs out there. You don?t have to have any experience for building wine racks, but if you are good at woodwork, you can make additions on yours. If you are new to woodwork, building wine racks is a great place to start.

Steps to Building Wine Racks

If you have experience with woodwork, you could probably just jump right into the task without help. But for those who are new to woodwork, you may want to look into getting a build-your-own-wine-rack kit. When you buy one of these, all the main supplies are included. This makes things extremely simple and fool-proof. You basically follow the directions and place the correct pieces together. Once you?ve completed building the wine rack, you?ll feel a lot more confident with woodwork and ready to take on more difficult projects.

If you have a little bit of experience with woodworking, you?ll have more choices in making building wine racks. Start out with a set of plans. If you are experienced enough to make your own plans, great. If you aren?t so lucky, you can find plans online for building wine racks.

Once you have your plans, you?ll need to choose the wood you want for building wine racks. There are several types of wood to choose from. You can completely change the look of the wine rack depending on the wood you choose. They type of wood can also effect how strong the wine rack is, so I recommend researching a little on the types of wood to use. Although building wine racks without plans is more difficult and more time consuming, you can end up unique looks to the racks.

No matter how you end up building wine racks, whether from a kit or on your own, you can end up with a great look. This is a wonderful way to take care of your wine, while adding style to your wine cellar. Building wine racks by yourself you can save on money and it allows you to completely decide how it will look. And after all your hard work you?ll have amazing wine racks to show for it.


About the Author:

Gert Gambell is a part time sport betting pro that teach how to bet and never loose at http://greatbettinginfo.com/. Reason for writing this article is that Gert found WineRackHome.com, http://winerackhome.com/, very useful when making racks to his wine cellar.





Thoughts about German Wine

Building Wine Racks To Safely Store Your Wine


Some people run the other direction when it comes to woodwork. Fortunately, when it comes to building wine racks, you don?t have to feel so intimidate...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

German Wine Products we recommend

Duerkheimer Fronhof - Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese


Our Grand Prize winning Eiswein from Kurt-Darting set a new standard for any rare wines seen in the USA. Now we have another fantastic wine from this great vintner. The 1993 Durkheimer Trockenbeerenauslese blew me away when I tasted it in 1996. Harvesting 'raisened' grapes can always give you rich wines, but complextiy of this level is rare. Another Gold Medal ... it deserves even better! Great gift for the sweet wine lover! Buy Ice wine online!DFTH94 (375 ml bottle) DFTH94


Price: 69.99 USD



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Festivals on the German Wine Route

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:53:32 PDT
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Boozing Hitler - WWII Soviet propaganda leaflet Pic]

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This networking group is a new, exciting and an excellent idea ... they have a wine group also ... im really looking forward to going and meeting like minded individuals to discuss business over lovely German Beer ! Sounds very informal ... we will be entertained too ... check it out !

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(PRWEB) January 9, 2008 -- French Wine Explorers (www.wine-tours-france.com) has a new proprietor; and travelling wine connoisseurs can expect continued excellence from America's leading wine tour...

A great recipe for hot spiced wine.

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:09:13 PST
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Sparkling Wine

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