The coolest festival in town is in full swing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the NC Teaching Winery is in the heart of the action.
The Icewine Festival kicked off on January 10 and will continue until January 26, organized by the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival.
A highlight of the annual festival held in celebration of Niagara’s iconic Icewine, is the Niagara-on-the-Lake Icewine Village, which transforms Queen Street in NOTL into a winter wonderland for two weekends in January. It kicked off January 18-19 and will continue January 25-26. Guests can enjoy free admission while they savour tastings from local wineries, including the NC Teaching Winery’s 2020 Scholar Icewine and 2022 Prodigy Icewine.
Jessica NealEllis, Event Coordinator for NC Teaching Winery, who has been on site at the Icewine Village events, noted that the festival is a local favourite that people wait all year to attend, featuring local wineries and restaurants. It draws guests from around the world sample Icewines and delicious culinary pairings.
With 4,000 people attending every January, she said that the festival is great way to introduce Niagara College Teaching Winery to locals and visitors.
A screenshot of the NC Teaching Winery’s offerings as a featured winery in the festival’s Discovery Pass (Source: Niagara Wine Festival).
“Being a part of this event gives us a chance to educate guests about not only the great things that are happening at NC, but also showcase our incredible winemaker and college alumni, Allison Findlay, along with opportunity to tell the story of our students,” said NealEllis.
NealEllis enjoys sharing her experiences from the NC Teaching Winery with those she meets.
“Working at the Winery, I get the pleasure of meeting our VIT students and see their hard work come to life. We watch them in the brave the cold during Icewine Harvest and even get to taste and promote their final projects under the Classe Cru label,” she said. “This is something I always love to share with everyone I meet while working at the festival.”
On January 25, the NC Teaching Winery will be entering the IceHaus Cocktail Competition, which will light up the Queen Street heritage district with a Euro-pop vibe featuring Icewine cocktails and a live DJ during the ticketed evening event. NC’s Teaching Winery’s Prodigy Icewine and Mango Bitters will be on the scene.
The Icewine Discovery Pass brings the excitement to campus during the festival until January 26. As a featured winery, the NC Teaching Winery is offering a Vidal French Onion Soup paired with Prodigy Icewine, with culinary partner Smoke & Barrel, available at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre for Discovery Pass participants.
The Teaching Winery was also a vendor at the Cool as Ice Gala on January 18 where the finest wineries in the region featured VQA Icewines and creative cocktails alongside farm-to-table cuisine. Guests enjoyed NC’s 2020 Dean’s List Meritage, 2022 Balance Cabernet Franc, 2022 Prodigy Icewine and 2020 Fortified Muscat as part of the elegant evening event at the Niagara Parks Fire Station.
More details are available at niagarawinefestival.com/
Related:
YourTV: NC wines featured at the Niagara-On-The-Lake Icewine Village festival
