Inniskillin, Niagara Cabernet Franc Icewine

Established in 1975 by Austrian chemist Karl Kaiser and Italian-Canadian agriculture graduate Donald Ziraldo, Inniskillin in Niagara is now synonymous with top-quality Icewine, a fact underlined by the numerous awards they have won. These are the wines that have put Canadian Icewine on the fine wine map.

Following Kaiser’s retirement in 2006, Bruce Nicholson joined Inniskillin as senior winemaker. Born and raised in the Niagara Peninsula, Bruce sat 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 accolades, including the Gran Premio from Vinitaly for his Icewine, in addition to being twice named Top Winemaker at the San Francisco International Wine Challenge. In 2021, Bruce handed the winemaking reins to Nicholas Gizuk, who had honed his craft under Bruce's watchful eye. Nicholas immediately went on to win the 2021 International Wine and Spirits Competition's 'Sweet Wine Producer of the Year'.

The harvest of Icewine grapes cannot begin until temperatures drop below -8°C for a sustained period. Inniskillin does not pick at temperatures warmer than -10°C, which reduces yields and increases quality, with the frozen clusters often harvested in the cool of night. The grapes are pressed immediately while their water content is frozen in crystals. They produce only a few drops of concentrated, intensely sweet juice, fermented slowly over the following months to become Icewine.

Inniskillin consistently sets the bar higher than its competitors. Although the VQA sets the minimum Brix level (used to measure sugar levels) at harvest at 35 degrees, Inniskillin generally harvests between 40 and 42 degrees. Rather than containing the minimum residual sugar level of 18%, Inniskillin’s wines have between 22 – 28%. As a result, the wines are significantly richer and more intense than other icewines, which merit their higher price.

The Riesling Icewine is defined by crisp, lively citrus and white peach notes 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 also developed a unique technique to create sparkling Icewine, which is exotic and honeyed, with a lively effervescence that gives freshness to the palate. The Cabernet Franc Icewine, decadent and festive with sophisticated, ripe, candied red fruit, has a lovely tannin structure on the finish.