By David DeRocco

There’s no clearer indication of the year-round importance of Niagara wines to local tourism than the fact two of the best events of the year take place in January.  The Niagara Icewine Festival – including the Niagara-on-the-Lake Icewine Festival and Twenty Valley’s Winter WineFest – kicks off a 12-month calendar of wine route celebrations held across the region, and wine lovers couldn’t be happier!

Running January 13 through 29^th, the 22^nd annual Niagara Icewine Festival is a celebration of one of Canada’s most cherished – and Niagara’s most unique – wine products. It’s further proof that Niagara’s wine season extends beyond the summer months.   

“The Niagara Icewine Festival has become a primary driver to the wine region,” said Kimberly Hundertmark, Executive Director of Niagara Grape and Wine Festival. “What was once considered to be a very quiet time of the year has now evolved into a significant tourism driver across the region. You will find three weekends of programming in January.”

The official kick off to the festival is the Xerox Icewine Gala: Sugar & Spice, an all-inclusive event held inside the Grand Halls at the Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls. The event sees casino chefs offering up world class cuisine complemented by over 100 VQA Icewines and table wines from over 35 participating local wineries.

Following the gala is a full calendar of festival-related events; those taking place in Niagara-on-the-Lake include Bravo Niagara’s concert series at Shaw Festival, featuring the sultry and soulful Divine Brown January 14^th and the award-winning Molly Johnson January 21. In addition, Shaw also hosts and “An Intimate Look at Oscar, With Love” hosted by Kelly and Celine Peterson and featuring both an Oscar Peterson documentary and performance by Robi Botos and Dave Young.

Comedy returns to the festival as well, as Niagara Oast House Brewers host the 4^th annual Icebreakers Comedy Festival January 26 – 28. The event features headliner K. Trevor Wilson, Jeff Paul and many more. In addition,  NOTL’s Queen Street district transforms into an outdoor icewine village as retailers and wineries take to the street to celebrate.  

Over in Jordan, the Twenty Valley Winter WineFest has grown into one of January’s hottest tickets, with most events (including the raucous Shake The Cave After Party) selling out in advance of the January 13 – 15 weekend. However, there’s still plenty to enjoy, including the Winter Wine and Culinary Village featuring the valley’s best wines, craft beers, barrel rolling, fashion shows and cooking with David Rocco.

While not every winery has the capacity to participate, Hundertmark says more and more regional wineries recognize that hosting wine-based events and activities year-round is the best way to ensure the ongoing health and continuing growth of the entire industry.

“Wine events come and go,” says Hundertmark. “The wineries embrace the programs that drive traffic to their locations and because the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival is the oldest in Canada there is a level of confidence that our solid business practices will result in a great partnership and a healthy return on their investment. The partners who recognize that their investment in the visitor experience will result in increased traffic and long term relationships. Those that think they will be successful just because the industry is doing well will not thrive in a very competitive market. Times have changed; the consumer is looking for an authentic Niagara winery experience and have choice.”

For events in the Valley, visit: http://www.20valley.ca/site/winter-winefest.

For full festival events, visit: http://www.niagarawinefestival.com/icewine-festival#sthash.WlL09ISE.dpuf