For those unfamiliar with ice wine, it is a process whereby the grapes are naturally frozen on the vine and picked when the temperature drops below –10°C (–14°F). So what better place in North America to implement such a technique than our friendly neighbors in Canada. The Inniskillin winery of Canada specializes in ice wines and is a label you are likely to see in the U.S. The winery is unique in that its vineyard properties are located thousands of miles apart: the Niagara in Ontario and the Okanagan in British Columbia.

So more about ice wine:  When the temperature is cold enough to harvest, the pressing process commences. Ice crystals are separated from the frozen grapes during pressing and this procedure concentrates the juice into a truly unique and typically sweet libation called Icewine.

Last night, my wife and I had Inniskillin’s 2005 Gold Vidal. Before I even pulled the cork I learned something: vidal is a grape varietal. It is an aromatic and hardy French hybrid is supposedly ideal for making icewine. No other more common varietals are blended as this is a 100% Vidal wine grown on the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario.

Icewine is a dessert wine, so we sipped it after dinner. While the wine had distinct apple aromas and taste, complemented with a little spice, it didn’t jump to the top of our favorite after dinner wine list (We’ll stick to the Port and Tokaji). Overall though, I would still recommend giving this wine a shot the next time a pear tart or apple pie is your dessert of choice.