Last week, the Niagara Wine Trail saw the first release of Ice Wine from naturally frozen vidal grapes grown right here in a Niagara County vineyard. As I mentioned this past winter, Schulze Vineyards and Winery in Burt, NY harvested its vidal on a frozen January morning. Well, after a long fermentation process -- and an equally long winter -- the winery hosted a six-course wine pairing dinner which included the Vidal Ice Wine with dessert.
Dominic Carisetti, winemaker and outspoken ambassador of several local wineries, hosted the two-night event, prepping guests before each dish with detailed background info on the wines. The wine list was entirely white wines, ranging from dry to decadently sweet, offering vidal in its various incarnations and a couple examples of Niagara-grape-based wines. After the ice wine was poured, he took the time to get opinions and notes on everyone's descriptions and impressions. After the last course Martin and Ann invited their guests to taste several other wines on the tasting menu, including reds and sparkling wines.
The star of the night was obviously the Vidal Ice Wine. I've had the luxury of tasting it from grape to glass this year and I was still blown away by the richness, complexity, and laser-focused flavors. The aroma alone is worth pondering for hours as it boasts apricot, fig, honey and mango with each sniff. This wine is meant to be savored, either by itself, with desserts, cheeses, or, if you roll this way, with foie gras. And with a price tag under $40, it comes in at about half of what you'd pay across the border in Ontario. Cheers to that!







