Monday October 23 (Niagara on the Lake)

It was a cloudy morning though still very mild. Later, just as we started our wine tour, we had a few spots of rain and it did get heavier as the evening wore on.

We left about 11.30 and headed for Niagara on the Lakes. As we approached Vineland we started to see vineyards and they went on for miles and miles. This area also has many orchards while cherries are the first spring crop. 

There is an escarpment that runs from Hamilton to Niagara Falls between Lakes Erie and Ontario and the climate is perfect for grapes.  We dropped off the escarpment and there was Lake Ontario, we could even just see Toronto and the CNN TOWER from our lunch at the Lake House, Mediterranean food.

Once we arrived, after grabbing a coffee at Tim Hortons, we took a walk through the town, there are some very quaint shops with lots of Ice Cream places. I bought a few gifts along the way!

We then drove out to the Peller Estate Winery stopping by the Niagara River for some photos. NY State is straight across on other side and we could see the railway bridge near Niagara.

We had a wander round the winery and tried an ICEWINE in the tasting room. The wine tour started by taking us outside and tasting a sparkling wine, ICE Cuvee Classic. 

First, we were asked where we were from: NZ, France, Chicago, NC and Ontario. then we learned some of the history of the estate.

Andrew Peller was a Hungarian wine maker who arrived in Hamilton n in 1927. He could not get a licence as he came from area in Hungary that was inhabited by a lot of Germans. 

He eventually went to BC where he worked for brewery and made his way up through the ranks. He finally purchased a small winery there though by this time he 50 yrs old. 

His son trained to be a doctor and moved to Hamilton where he was Head of Internal Medicine at a hospital. He commuted between Hamilton and BC but, finally, his wife said, choose. 

He gave up medicine, moved to BC and took over winery. His son moved to Niagara and Peller Estate Winery was established in 2001. They grow a great variety of grapes and own several vineyards and wineries as well as land.

 Some of the grapes are not harvested until they get the right amount of frost, out of these they make ICEWINE, which is sweet like a dessert wine. 

The winter of 2013 was terrible, it destroyed many of the wines but it was great for ICEWINE which is made from frozen grapes. One graoe produces one drop of wine, hence it is very expensive! ICEWINE started by accident in Germany when a winemaker was too ill to harvest.
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When he was recovered the grapes were frozen so he harvested them to see if anything could be made, a eureka moment, lol!! The making of this wne has now spread to the US, Canada and the UK.

We then moved onto the vineyard and tried a Pinot Gris mix. The vines are laden with grapes and will be harvested in the near future. 

Our next stop was in the Barrel Room, there were four large oak barrels just inside the entrance and they contained Chardonnay. 

A large number of other, smaller, barrels contained a  variety of wines. The wines are often blended and here we tasted a Gamay Noir, it was fairly light but when paired with dark chocolate the taste changed somewhat. The barrels last 5 years, many had 12 at front of their code so this will be their last year.

Our last stop was at the 10 (C) below room, brrrr, we had to put jackets on, lol! We tasted a VIDAL ICEWINE here! Grapes for the ICEWINE must be between 8 and 12 degrees C below for harvesting so they will be frozen. Harvesting might take place as late as February depending on the temperature. There is a fake ICE WINE, where the grapes are flash frozen, sugar and other preservstives are added!

That was the end of the very interesting tour and we waited n the lounge for a short time before heading to the dining room for dinner. It is very up market, and the service is high class as well. We started with a glass of the Sparkling Cuvee while we looked at the menu. Brent and Jenny chose the five course taster menu, each course being a surprise! Being more conservative, I decided to have the beef rib eye, lol. Before the main course, we were all given a palette  cleanser of rose water and raspberry shaved ice, it was delightful!

The beef was fabulous, cooked to perfection! It struck me as amusing that the mian course for Jenny and Brent was also the beef! Then we had a pre dessert sweetener, almond panacotta with blueberry and almond shavings. I had the Carrot Cake as well as an ICEWINE, talk about yummy, followed by a latte! What a truly fabulous meal.

It was of course dark on way home and we saw a deer on the road soon after we left, that was the only one. There were some very happy cats when we arrived home! This was a very special birthday, one I will long remember. thanks to Brent and Jenny. Their hospitality and generosity has been amazing and I am truly grateful.