Living in this region, you either curse the cold or embrace it, and for this and the following two Saturdays, the wineries of Ohio’s Grand River Valley are going to embrace and taste it.
They’re celebrating their 15th annual Ice Wine Festival, during which they’ll be pouring plenty of this sweet specialty that they make with grapes that are left to freeze on the vines, resulting in much sweeter, even syrupy, wines.
For the festival, each of five-plus wineries in the region -— about a two-hour drive northwest of Pittsburgh, along Interstate 90 south of Ashtabula and Geneva-on-the-Lake — will provide a sample of its wines, an ice wine glass and a complimentary and complementary appetizer for $6. Visitors, who save $1 at each winery if they donate a canned good for a local food bank, can stop at any of the near-to-each-other wineries between noon and 5 p.m. on those Saturdays and partake of that and other fun, ranging from ice wine cocktails and ice carving and dog sledding to local artists and crafters.
On each of the preceding Fridays, there also is a progressive “Winter Glow” ice wine dinner to three places for $59.50 per adult. (Call 1-440-466-3485 or visit www.debonne.com for information and to reserve; the first one is sold out.) This Saturday, there’s a 4-mile Run & Ice Wine winter run between two wineries (register at facebook.com/events/749333058773652). Other wineries are getting in on the action, too, including South River Winery and Kosicek Vineyards. And you can get ideas for booking accommodations and transportation on the growers’ website.
To make ice wine, the grapes are left in the vineyard until the temperature drops to 17 degrees or lower and then the grapes are pressed while still frozen. South River’s Gene Sigel notes that his winery has two Italian presses just for that purpose.
Those temperatures didn’t hit until January, but, “We had excellent yields of juice that was markedly higher in concentrated flavors and sugar than we often achieve with ice wines pressed in November or December,” he said, noting, “I am excited about the 2018 vintage.” But he says those wines won’t be poured until next year’s fest.
Ice wine is popular and also celebrated in and around Erie, Pa., and across Lake Erie Wine Country and the Finger Lakes and on up into Ontario and Quebec. It can be pricey: Some bottles available at Pennsylvania Fine Wines & Good Spirits stores cost $50 or more, and that’s for the smaller 375-milliliter bottles.
MaryJo Ferrante of Ferrante Winery & Ristorante (which is offering a no-reservations-needed ice wine pairing menu all month) says, “We draw visitors from all over the United States, and it’s fun to share this unique wine with them and see their reaction to it.”
For more information, call 1-440-466-3485 or visit wggrv.com.
The appetizer menu and events this weekend include:
Debonne Vineyards
• Appetizer: Baked Parmesan Dip
• Cocktail (for an additional fee): Fire & Ice Mule
• Sled dog demonstration all day
• Live music Friday night and Saturday afternoon
Ferrante Winery & Ristorante
• Appetizer: Ice Wine Rockefeller
• Cocktail (additional): Ice Wine Bellini
• Live music Saturday evenings
• Ice wine bottle toss game
Grand River Cellars Winery & Restaurant
• Appetizer: Thai Peanut Sauce over Noodles
• Cocktail (additional): Ice Wine Martini
• Ice wine marshmallow roast all day (small additional fee)
• Ice carving at noon
• Ice wine candles
• Live music from 7:30-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4-7 p.m. Sunday
• Yoga & Ice Wine at 11 a.m. March 10 (reserve in advance for $15 for class followed by an Ice Wine Bellini)
Laurello Vineyards
• Appetizer: Banana Cream Mousse
• Beach glass jewelry by Rita Burns
• Video of ice wine harvest and pressing
St. Joseph Vineyards
• Appetizer: Apple Strudel
• Kryz’s maple syrup
• Premier Jewelry
Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.
First Published: February 28, 2019, 5:00 a.m.
