Canada.
I'd never been to Canada before, so I knew I was in store for an epic adventure.
We arrived in Niagra Falls, Ontario, where we checked into our fallsview room.
See that window there? To the left? Outside of it are the falls.
We uncorked a bottle of wine and relaxed after our drive, enjoying the view of the falls outside.
At night, the falls are lit up, and change color every few minutes. To the right are the Canadian Horseshoe falls, to the left the American falls.
After taking in our view, we decided it was time for a dip in the hotel pool. Cannonball! Well..almost.
Then, we dried off and headed over to the bar for drinks, sustenance, and a game of cribbage.
The next morning, we stopped for breakfast at Tim Horton's before checking out the falls.
I had a breakfast sandwhich, a mocha latte, and a maple cream-stuffed donut. I really wish we had more of these in the States!
We then braved the cold to check out the Horseshoe falls.
After hiking around in the cold for a few hours, we were very ready for the second part of our trip. We headed up to the wine trails along the north-western edge of Lake Ontario in order to taste some of the most recommended ice wines in the region.
Ice wines are made from grapes pressed after the first winter frost. Because the grape is still frozen, the juices released have a much higher sugar content, leading to a richer, sweeter wine.
The first winery on our list of must-sees was The Ice House.
Here we tasted three wines, a Vidal (paired with crisps and parmesan), a Riesling (with pistachios), and a Cab Franc (accompanied with a piece of rich dark chocolate). We also got to try a version of the Vidal that had been frozen into a slushie.
Next, we checked out Inniskillin.
Then on to Peller Estates. This place had a delicious Cab Franc which tasted like cherries, definitely one of my favorites.
And the final winery we visited that day, Jackson-Triggs.
Here they had a cozy fireplace, where you could sit and look out over the vineyard.
Unfortunately, we couldn't stay and taste all day. Before making our way back to the States, we stopped at a cute European-style bakery for some late lunch.
At all of the wineries, we tasted a number of delicious ice wines, and often left with bags full of goodies bought to take home and share. Each winery had a different character, from small and cozy, to modern, spacious and edgy. If you have never tried ice wine before, or if you have and loved it, I'd definitely suggest checking out these and some of the other great wineries in the area.
