Iced experience with Peller Estates

It feels very odd to be slipping on wool gloves and zipping up a parka when the temperature outside is in the upper 20s. But visitors to Peller Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake are happy to bundle up for an iced experience, no matter what the season.

10Below Icewine Lounge, by Peller Estates, is designed for guests to experience the exact temperature at which icewine grapes are harvested, to explore the complexities of its production and to savour the layered flavours of the winery’s three icewines – vidal blanc, riesling and cabernet franc.

The winery provides fur-trimmed parkas (rather fetching, actually) and gloves that are
smartphone-compatible, which is a different kind of cool. It’s a design detail that makes a selfie set against the carved ice walls easy to post. Inside the ice room, there’s an ice bar, benches and an elegant ice chandelier.

The lounge is both Canadian in its icewine theme and Canadian in execution. Designed and built by Hensall, Ont.-based Iceculture Inc., which has designed and built ice lounges and sculptures around the world, the structure was created from more than 13,000 kilograms of crystal clear ice blocks. It holds up to 15 people, and is intended as a place to sip and savour the elixir sometimes referred to as “liquid gold” but also as an opportunity to learn about the wine’s production, a time-consuming and concentrated process, and one that Canada has come to own.

Contact Peller Estates to book a tour with tastings or a wine pairing in the winery’s restaurant. Celebrity chef Jason Parsons has developed some lovely dishes using the product – such as his icewine-braised pulled pork with peach salsa, or his icewine-poached lobster – to illustrate the wine’s complexity and versatility.

For a different treatment and a bit of luxurious indulgence, try a glass of Peller’s Ice Cuvée, a traditional méthode sparkling wine made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, with added flavour from the vidal icewine. Icewine with bubbles! It’s nice to get iced in Niagara.

Source: The Globe and Mail: Niagara’s Peller Estates offers a very chill icewine experience.  Read full article here. 

Watch this online video filmed at the lounge: