Icewine Festival an annual gala in Niagara
If you love the cold and you find yourself in Ontario in mid- to late January, you should consider attending the Niagara Icewine Festival (Jan. 12-28).
Returning for its 23rd year, the festival features vibrant street parties in three Niagara communities over three weekends, seasonal food and wine pairings at more than three dozen wineries and an elegant gala to launch the festivities.
Between Jan. 19 and 28, Niagara-on-the-Lake’s historic Queen Street transforms into a winter wonderland where icewines from 26 Niagaraon-the-Lake wineries will be flowing and the renowned chefs will serve up icewine-inspired culinary creations. For more details go visitniagaracanada.com.
The Drinks Business
■ online reports sales of gin in the U.K. have risen by seven million bottles in the past year, reaching a record 47 million bottles, or the equivalent of 1.32 billion gin and tonics.
The figures confirm the findings of a recent YouGov poll which found that gin is now the most popular spirit among U.K. drinkers, with 29 per cent of participants saying it is their favourite spirit, beating rivals whisky (25 per cent) and vodka (23 per cent).
B.C. WINE OF THE WEEK
Moon Curser Dead of the Night 2015, Okanagan Valley
$37.30 | 90/100
UPC: 626990091820
Dead of the Night is a 50/50 mix of Syrah/Tannat grown on the Osoyoos east bench area that is the unofficial flagship red of the winery. As big as Syrah and Tannat can be, this wine remains fresh and bright on the nose, offering fragrant notes of dark plums and ripe blackberries. The palate is much improved, showing more finesse and refined dense tannins permeated by a strong black cherry flavour. More elegance here than we are used to tasting, and it is welcomed in what can be a brawny red. Impressive.
WINE FOR THE CELLAR
Champagne Pierre Paillard Les Parcelles Bouzy Grand Cru Extra Brut 12 N/V, Champagne, France $56.99 ($119.99, 1500 mL) | 93/100
UPC: 3535140001008
Based on the 2012 vintage, this extra brut was disgorged in December 2016 after four years on the lees, and composed of 60/40 Chardonnay/Pinot Noir. It’s rare to see this amount of Chardonnay in a blend from this redcentric region, and it gives a distinct character to this impressive and terroirfocused family house. Highly impressive with a fine cream, meringue, nutty base, succulent fruit with a tight grip of chalky acidity. The sustainably farmed Champagne house continues to impress each year. Drinking beautifully now, but will age gracefully in your cellar, especially in magnum.