These are the wines that have put Canadian Icewine on the map. Established in 1975 by Austrian chemist Karl Kaiser and Italian-Canadian agriculture graduate Donald Ziraldo, Inniskillin is now synonymous with top-quality Icewine, a fact underlined by the numerous awards they have won. Following Kaiser’s retirement in 2006, Bruce Nicholson joined Inniskillin in Niagara as senior winemaker. Born and raised in the Niagara Peninsula, Bruce sits on the technical committee of the Vintners’ Quality Alliance in Ontario (VQA) and the committee for Sustainable Winemaking of the Wine Council of Ontario. Bruce has become Canada’s most awarded winemaker, with many awards including the Gran Premio from Vinitaly for his Icewine, in addition to being twice named Top Winemaker at the San Francisco International Wine Challenge. The harvest of the precious Icewine grapes cannot begin until temperatures drop below -8°C for a sustained period of time. Inniskillin does not pick at temperatures warmer than -10°C, which reduces yields and increases quality; the frozen clusters are often harvested in the cool of night. The grapes are pressed immediately while their water content is frozen in crystals, leaving only a few coveted drops of concentrated, intense liquid, which is then fermented slowly over the following months to become Icewine. Inniskillin consistently sets the bar much higher than its competitors. Although the VQA sets the minimum Brix level at harvest at 35 degrees, Inniskillin generally harvests at between 40 and 42 degrees and, instead of a minimum of 18% of residual sugar, Inniskillin’s wines have between 22 – 28%. As a result, the wines are richer, more intense and merit their higher price. The Riesling Icewine has crisp, lively citrus and white peach characters balancing its impressive sweetness. Fermented in French oak barrels, the ‘Gold’ Vidal is richer in style with cloves, cinnamon and toast complementing stone fruits and marmalade. Bruce has developed a unique technique to create sparkling Icewine which is exotic and honeyed. A lively effervescence gives freshness to the palate. The Cabernet Franc, decadent and festive with sophisticated ripe, candied red fruit, has a lovely tannin structure on the finish. After a spectacular, warm and dry autumn the weather turned sharply cold in November, bringing the first hard frost in the first week of the month and the first freeze/thaw event shortly thereafter allowing the grapes to begin developing all the classic icewine characteristics. Ready for harvesting in the early morning of 14th December, the Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Vidal were harvested over the next few consecutive days, as temperatures were perfect falling between -9°C to -11°C. Thanks to this early harvest, the juice was of the highest quality, with plentiful yields and excellent concentration. This rich and concentrated icewine boasts flavours of ripe peach and juicy tangerine with a touch of warm baking spice. The lively acidity adds the perfect balance to this delicious nectar, its smooth texture and solid structure lead to an extended fruit filled finish.