Icewine - Niagara

[wolverine07]

We are planning on visiting Niagara on the Lake this weekend, can anyone recommend a winery or place in Niagara Falls where we can buy some icewine?

[jandumm]

When you get off the QEW (exit 38A) and get onto Niagara Stone Road, there's a ton of wineries on that road.

We were at Hillebrand this weekend and they have a very nice wine boutique -> nice icewines. I recommend the tour for $7 :) We liked the red ice wine they had there (don't remember the name).

[nalababe]

Almost any major winery will have icewine. Some of the larger like Peller have nice facilities as well for dinner or buying product.

[SW20 MR2]

The best place is Royal Demaria. They are a tiny winery and not well-known, but when you walk in, they have a room full of nothing but awards and letters of commendation from politicians. They pretty much prepare small batches of wines and compete in global competitions. It's a mom and pop shop, and the owners are very nice. When we went there, we had 8 people and they gave us a free tasting of 7 or 8 icewines. They've got wines ranging from $60 right through to ones on the thousands.

[wolverine07]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I think we have settled on Jackson Triggs winery tommorow, they have varying tours as low as $5 to $10 to the higher wine and cheese tasting. Hopefully it will stop raining so we can go out and check out the grapevines. ;)

[Jucius Maximus]

Pilliteri Estates is one of the biggest, and their product is tasty!

If you want to have a nice but expensive lunch, try the restaurant at Peller Estates.

Hidden Bench is reputedly very good.

[GourmetDish]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I think we have settled on Jackson Triggs winery tommorow, they have varying tours as low as $5 to $10 to the higher wine and cheese tasting. Hopefully it will stop raining so we can go out and check out the grapevines. ;)

Let us know how it was, please!

[wszeto28]

is there a difference between buying wine from the Niagara-On-The-Lake vineyards and LCBO? price? quality?

[Jucius Maximus]

is there a difference between buying wine from the Niagara-On-The-Lake vineyards and LCBO? price? quality?

Same stuff. Similar or same prices.
The difference is that if you go to the actual vinyard, you have a better chance to sample the wine, and may also find all kinds of obscure and hard-to-find wines that barely or just do not reach the LCBO shelves.

At the vinyard's own shops, you might pay $3-4 to sample an icewine, but they usually refund that if you buy the bottle.