Icewine in chocolate shot "glasses" at Konzelmann Estate winery.
It was the sweetest getaway of the month as 20 of Zeekid’s friends converged upon the Niagara region to celebrate some of the finest icewines Ontario had to offer.
Marshmallows roasting on the open fire ... at Peller Estates Winery
We were greeted at the start of our twelve winery tour by the savoury taste of Konzelmann Estate winery’s icewine in a sweet chocolate shot cup topped with fine chocolate shavings. This alcoholic beverage was consumed together with the shot glass. Thus it created a explosive blending of chocolate and icewine flavour in your mouth.
It set the bar considerably high for the other eleven wineries.
The Peller estate was the first of our outdoor events. We had two great icewines to accompany a giant marshmallow specially prepared by the estate’s chef. What better way to be served icewine than over a bar made completely of ice!
I also discovered that icewine is used for more than just drinking. The marshmallows served at the estate was actually made with icewine! That makes it one of the most expensive marshmallows I have ever tasted.
At many locations, an appetizing array of food was presented with the wine. Some had icewine as an ingredient while others were made to complement and accentuate the taste of the dessert wine.
Combining icewine and ice cream at Château des Charmes.
At Château des Charmes, we were treated to a wonderful desert idea, blending icewine with ice cream. I think I would alter the original idea and soak the peach slices in icewine while drizzling a tiny bit of icewine into the ice cream before consumption.
One of the great delicacies we encountered was a pulled pork sandwich at Flat Rock Cellars. The pork was marinated in icewine until it could fall apart. This resulted in a very flavourful pork that complemented the icewine served.
Another great food sample was the spicy vegetable chowder from Eastdell Estates Winery. The chowder was so popular that the winery restaurant had to start an email list to accomodate the request for the recipe from their guests. They also had a lemon mousse that accentuated the flavour of the wine.
Between Rieslings, Vidals and other grapes, our palate was treated to over 20 flavours of table and icewines. Most of the icewines tasted very similar, relying on subtle differences to differentiate them. While, at the risk of sounding alcoholic, I would love to have any one of them any day, the one wine that stood out for a few of us was the carbernet franc at Legends Estates Winery. It was subtle in sweetness yet flavourful.
Zeekid preparing one of his fabulous recipes
Back at the cottage, we were treated to even more culinary creativity by Chef Zeekid himself. We had a tasty pasta dish with caviar for the first night and a rizotto rice dish with three mushroom sauce for the second night.
You know you’re always well fed when you feast with Zeekid!
During the tour, I discovered my three personal ratings for ice wine: great, awesome and out of this world. To be honest though, they all tasted great and the difference between the three ratings was small indeed.
Good food, good friends and lots of drinking summed up the trip. It was a pleasure getting to know new friends and getting reacquainted with the old ones.
Great people, good times!