#chateaudescharmes

[yahospitality]

Bosc Family, #wine #chateaudescharmes #nigaraonthelake (at Château des Charmes)

[yahospitality]

Wine Tour #chateaudescharmes #wine #niagaraonthelake (at Château des Charmes)

[openingnflowers-blog]

Loved this set up ✨🌸🌾#Repost @simplybeautifuldecor (via @repostapp) ・・・ A pretty one from one of our weddings at @chateaudescharmes this summer! #niagarawedding #vineyardwedding #sonomachairs #weddingdecor #chateaudescharmes #goldwedding #weddinginspiration #weddingdecor #goldchairs

[michael-pinkus-blog]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAIrQji-kAk)

[lindsaytheresaa]

Had a wonderful time on my first wine tour. I felt tiny next to all these barrels. I'm awkward when people take pictures of me 🚺 #chateaudescharmes

[thebiteto]

Photo courtesy of Inniskillin

Gold all-around for icewine

Although Canada racks up the medals for icewine, most Canadians are blind to their very own ‘liquid gold’.

by Mark Cadiz

Have you had a glass of icewine lately?

If you're like most Canadians, probably not. What's more, most of us are unaware of the award-winning icewines being produced right in our own backyard.

Home grown, handpicked and vinified in the Niagara Peninsula—the world’s largest producer of icewine—this sweet treasure deserves a second look by epicures and oenophiles alike.

Wine connoisseur and marketing director for Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs, Franco Timpano, says our icewines are under appreciated by Canadians due to a lack of education.

“The sweet wines around the world would be classified historically as dessert wines,” Timpano said. “But what we are trying to do is position icewines as a wine that can pair well with any course and food.”

And what exactly makes our icewines world-class? If you didn’t already know, the Niagara Peninsula is a very unique place in the world where a warm growing season is followed by a sub-zero winter. The combination of both creates the most ideal conditions for making good quality icewines, often referred to as ‘liquid gold’.

But the final product doesn't come easy. Icewine production is a very long and rigorous process: the grapes have to freeze naturally on the vine at a sustained minimum temperature of -8 C before they can be harvested, an industry standard enforced by Ontario’s Wine Authority under the Vintners Quality Alliance Act (VQA). But vintners aim for even colder temperatures to ensure a certain level of sweetness.

Timpano says when people begin to realize how intense and delicate the process is they begin to develop a deeper appreciation for it, and for him, that’s where the magic lies for icewine.

“That’s when people click and say ‘Oh, my gosh, its such an intense process to making such a magical wine.’”

The Bosc family, led by Paul Bosc, founded Château des Charmes in 1978. This award-winning winery—including the prestigious Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada—produces top-quality icewines. Marketing director, Michele Bosc, says they've been diligently spreading the word about icewine. “We are trying to help people understand how they can drink it, because it is a versatile, age-worthy wine.”

Although the demand is growing every year in Canada, it’s growing at a slower rate when compared to countries like Japan and China.

Tony Aspler, wine critic and founder of the Ontario Wine Awards, says Ontarians are generally not sweet wine drinkers and when you factor in the cost of a good bottle of icewine it could be enough to sway your average Canadian drinker to cheaper alternatives.

“In order to make it affordable the winemakers are bringing them in smaller sizes, like 200 ml,” Aspler said.

For example, a 375 ml bottle of the 2009 Château des Charmes Riesling Icewine, which won ‘Gold’ in the vinifera varietal category at this year’s Ontario Wine Awards, retails for $60 at the LCBO, a hefty price for your everyday wine consumer.

Price aside, some of Canada’s top icewine makers—Château Des Charmes, Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs—continue to rack up the medals in Canada and abroad, bringing attention to our world-class, locally-made wines.

Proving its versatility, Timpano says icewine is not only meant to be for dessert, but also pairs well with cheeses and different charcuteries.

“There are so many other ways to drink it. I’ll do an assortment of different cheeses, dark chocolates and nuts and pair those with the different varietals so the proper flavour profiles match quite wonderfully,” he said.

If you're not keen on icewine's intense sweetness, Bosc suggests mixing it with a sparkling wine, making a fabulous drink as an apéritif or digestif. She says you can also have it with a vodka or gin martini and throw in a dash of icewine to enhance the taste.

As Canadians become more wine savvy, local wine producers hope we'll start enjoying the sweet stuff and take more pride in it. “It is completely unique and absolutely explosive in your mouth,” says Bosc.

“If you have never experienced a really well-made icewine, and you put your nose in the glass, or you sip it for the first time, your eyes will pop because the intensity of the flavor and the aromas are spectacular.”

[ricedot]

07.24.2011 Château des Charmes Vineyard, Niagara on the Lake

Vineyard tour on our way out of Canada