Melo Villareal
Inniskillin Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
A visit to Canada and particularly that to Ontario would be incomplete without dining at the Inniskillin Winery. The winery is located in Niagara-on-the Lake, appealing even the darkest souls. Considered as Ontorio’s most celebrated winery, Iniskillin is specialized in ice winemaking and is a pioneer in Modern Canadian Wine production.
We arrived in the winery just in time for lunch and as we enjoy the food, We also found the sensual delights of wine paired with the steamed pink salmon and vegetable salad they served. A perfect pair indeed.
While having lunch, we were able to taste some of the wines that they are producing, red, white and my favorite ice wine. Among the three wines we tasted, I guess the Ice Wine would be my favorite. Their ice wine has the right amount of sweetness yet fine structured with excellent acidity.
The wine prepared here is from the best quality grapes that flourish around the Niagara-on-the-Lake. These grapes are of superior quality because of its growing conditions like the warming and cooling influences of Lake Ontario and its proximity to the Niagara Escarpment.
My First Impression
As I entered the Winery a sense of pleasure filled my being and I was more delighted to see the sensual delicacies served with wine. The winery has a rich tradition of producing icewine, whose roots can be traced back to the German winemakers. I know a little knowledge about the winery is not just enough to make my visit memorable, so I got in touch with the people there to know more about the Winery.
I got to know from them that the winery is a standing proof of an age-old tale, a tale of two wineries and two regions. The wineries are separated by miles but remain committed to a single purpose. The wineries in Niagara and Okanagan sell the best wines with the help of a dedicated group of winemakers sweating day and night.
There is something which excited me and it is the fact that the winery is still expanding its frontiers and improving its winemaking abilities with a number of strategic partnerships. I am really looking forward to the more wine experience!!
Learning the Art of Winemaking
I really want to learn the process of winemaking and I was really enthralled to know how the wine I enjoy the most is made. I got a perfect explanation too. Grapes are kept in vine well for months of winter to make the flavor intensive. The water content then freezes and dehydrates in each of the icewine grape.
The process of crafting icewine here is gifted by nature, by God himself. This is no doubt as I could enjoy the exquisite climate and stand witness to the winemaking art in Niagara. I was taken by shock when I heard the harvest is done only when the temperature drops to minus 8 degree Celsius.
I was wondering could anyone even survive the bitter cold and to know more, harvest is done at night. The harvested grapes are crushed immediately to extract the nectar out of it. It is then slowly fermented, over a period of months. The finished icewine is delicious, flavored, intense and sweet.
At Lunch
I sat down to taste the wine along with other sumptuous dishes for lunch. It took no time for me to realize the unique sensation on the palate. It was truly a wonder and wine-making at its best. I just wanted more and more and could not stop myself from enjoying each sip.
This visit to the winery gave me the chance of life to experience alluring sights, the regional culinary specialties and above everything the hospitality of the people at the winery. I would say the journey is an indescribable dimension of attractions and tastes. I am sure to come back for more soon on my next visit to Toronto.
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