WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT VQA ICEWINES?

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT VQA ICEWINES?
The Icewine market in Canada is highly regulated. Canadian Icewine producers using the “Icewine” trademark need to be registered with the Vintner’s Quality Association in the province they make their VQA Icewines and must follow very stringent VQA regulations and documentation to ensure the authenticity of their products.Typical Icewine production in Canada requires the grapes to be collected late in the Fall or sometime in the winter after the temperature has fallen below -7 degrees Celsius for three straight days. Under these rigorous cold conditions, grapes used for the production of VQA Icewines are naturally frozen and must be harvested and pressed in this natural frozen state.

By the time the Icewine grape harvest occurs, most of the juice has evapourated and only about 10% of the original grape juice remains. Flavours and properties of the grape are therefore concentrated in a small amount of grape juice which yields a wine that is very rich, intense, and obviously very sweet, making Icewines the ideal dessert wine to have on any special occasion.

Our icewines are produced according to the VQA regulations using grapes grown by a group of neighbouring historic vineyards, on the outskirts of St. Catharines in the famous Niagara Peninsula of Southern Ontario, Canada. This area is a fertile microclimate known worldwide for its unique combination of summer growing conditions and cold Canadians winters, ideal for the making of Icewines.