LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2022

CANADIAN

CONTENDERS

One way to make sweet wine is to increase the ratio of sugars to liquid in the grapes by leaving them on the vine longer than usual. German and Austrian winemakers mastered the process centuries ago with their Spätlese and Auslese Rieslings. Here in Canada, the same approach gives us some splendid Late Harvest, Select Late Harvest and Special Select Late Harvest wines. Icewine takes the idea to the extreme, letting the shrivelled bunches hang deep into the winter until consistent temperatures below -10°C freeze them solid. The whole process is a monumental gamble. A year’s harvest can be lost to damp or mould, and there’s no guarantee the weather will cooperate in these times of climate change. Once the fro zen grapes are in the press, they yield less than 10 per cent of the juice they once contained, and the sugar is so concentrated that fermentation takes months. It’s worth it. No other wines have the same intensity of sweetness and balancing acidity, and the same concentration of flavour. Delectable elixirs on their own, icewines are also surprisingly versatile food wines, thanks to their high acidity. Twenty years ago, when dessert wines of all kinds enjoyed a bubble of popularity, they were sold by the glass in all the leading Ontario restaurants, and elaborate tastings were held matching icewine with food. Among the great successes with white icewines were seared foie gras and other, coarser pâtés; pissaladière with anchovies and black olives; chicken korma; satay pork or shrimp with chili and mango; and Gorgonzola cheese.

THE ESSENCE OF RIESLING Icewine ages beautifully, with maturity adding extra nuances to the glorious fruit aromas that greet one from the glass. Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine VQA (VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 430561, 375 mL, $49.95) offers layers of candied lemon peel, peach pie and a touch of minerality under fresh peach, lemon zest and ripe melon notes. A ringing acidity perfectly offsets the voluptuous texture, reminding you that this is a wine, not confectionary—and unmistakably a Riesling. VIDAL’S FINEST HOUR Reif Estate planted some of the Vidal vines used to make this gem over 40 years ago, and they knew what they were doing. Slow-fermented for five months, the Vidal Icewine VQA (VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 544791, 200 mL, $24.95) bursts forth with a sensory riot of guava, pineapple, peach, marmalade and ginger special effects, all of them kept in motion by a racy acidity. A little goes a long way. HAIL THIS CAB! Most red icewines are made with Cabernet Franc, so it’s a rare treat to find a Cabernet Sauvignon version, like this one from Lakeview Cellars (VINTAGES 471813, 200 mL, $39.95, Dec. 17 release). The nose is strawberry compote with a drop of vanilla, the taste more multi-dimensional, with cranberry adding an intriguing bitter note to raspberry and bramble flavours. The perfect wine match for your grandmother’s cherry pie.

ICEWINE COCKTAILS Go to lcbo.com/ fdholiday22 to

find all sorts of fabulous

cocktails using icewine as an ingredient. My top four: the Icewine Martini, the Winter Festival, the Blood Orange Martini and the Niagara Mist.

NO OTHER WINES HAVE THE SAME INTENSITY OF SWEETNESS AND BALANCING ACIDITY, AND THE SAME CONCENTRATION OF FLAVOUR

166 FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2022