Drink now, or later?

You might ponder of the red wines in your cellar…

At one of the wineries on our icewine tour last Sunday the question came up of aged wines... When to drink and not to drink.  Certainly not all wines are made for aging, with over 90% being made to enjoy within 1-2 years or as soon as you get home with the bottle. But there are those that can, and do live on for decades. Tips for Typical long lifers?

Opt for certain grape varieties or blends if looking to cellar your bottle; possibilities include big Barolos, or other wines made with the Nebbiolo grape, Bordeaux, big California Cabernets,  Syrahs from the Northern Rhone, great quality Shiraz such as Penfolds Grange to name a few...

We’re all set for our “Shimmer of Gold Icewine Tours” to Niagara this Sunday, January 15^th and Sunday the 22^nd.  http://thewineladies.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1278:susanne&catid=70:front-page-news&Itemid=170 The question on a lot of people’s mind, “how’s the weather cooperating for the grapes”   It’s always about the weather, but in this case, with icewine it REALLY is about the weather!

Early this week we had the chance to speak with winemaker Bruce Nicholson from Inniskillin Winery www.Inniskillin.com  in Niagara, and as he puts it, it’s EXTREME winemaking, and not without its risks. We asked Bruce to give us the low down so far on the 2011 icewine vintage. . (FYI, even if the grapes are picked in the next year, as 2012 this year, the vintage will still be 2011, the year the grapes ripened.) Here’s what he had to say

“We get a lot of media calling us up, and asking about how things are going. In the second and third weeks of December   “Aren’t you worried Bruce” was the reoccurring question.  No why, I say, we know it’s going to get cold, we’ve still got January and February to go.  That’s the thing about icewine, it’s not like harvesting other fruit, where you know when you’re going to pick. Icewine picking can happen in a number of months, part of why its extreme winemaking” 

“So what are the optimal conditions for picking Bruce?” we ask?

“I like to pick between at least minus 9, 9.5 to minus 11.

I always wait for the cold temps.  I like what you said Georgia about the freeze and thaw…. that’s what gives a wine the complexity in the end, that repetitive cycle helps develops the important components of a great icewine.

With the crazy warm temperatures we’ve had so far, how is the 2011 icewine vintage looking?

“I really like what I see, I’m cautiously optimistic, our yields were good, the birds didn’t get them, kind of a relief, Wednesday was cooperative enough, we picked up everything we needed to… left a few rows, about 8 or so… (we learn that approximately 15% of the expected yield for table grapes is all you get for icewine…. which contribute to its richer price)

Awaiting us at Vineland  Estates Winery www.Vineland.com  the world's first vodka icewine martini, a delicious combination of Vineland Estates Vidal Icewine and Canadian made Vodka. VICE is the duality of an Angel on one shoulder and the Devil on the other.Serve chilled from fridge or freezer. Pour into VICE martini glass. Garnish with grapes. Simply delish!

Join us Jan 15^th  http://guestlistapp.com/events/79167   for The Wine Lades Shimmer of Gold Icewine Tour taking place during the annual Niagara Icewine Festival. Sure to be a stupendous day, a wintry wonderland awaits you, come and celebrate Icewine and winter, with us, at the annual Niagara Icewine Festival. We’ll visit three personally selected wineries where our small group will enjoy a unique VIP wine experience just for us. In between visits, we’ll spend a little time in the village, with the festival offering up fabulous wines, superb foods, and lots of shopping and entertainment. The ice sculptures and roasting marshmallows are always a hit too!

Our  1^st stop on the 15^th  will be Fielding Estate Winery www.fieldingwines.com the Muskoka-inspired Fielding wine lodge nestled at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment, offering stunning views across the winery’s vineyard to Lake Ontario and Toronto’s skyline. This vista is the dominating feature as you cozy up to the wine bar for a sample of some of Ontario’s finest VQA wines. Curtis and Heidi Fielding have quickly carved out a solid reputation for crafting quality VQA wines from their estate vineyards in Beamsville, focusing on grape varieties that perform best in Niagara’s unique microclimate vineyards — Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay for whites, and Pinot Noir and Merlot for reds.

To book your tickets please call 905-338-6797 or buy on line here http://guestlistapp.com/events/79167    

To learn more, visit the winery online at www.fieldingwines.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Fielding.Wines and follow them on Twitter @FieldingWinery.