Icy ice wine tour

We don't usually take group tours, but since we've opted not to drive on this trip, we signed up for an ice wine and ice cider tour. For anyone who doesn't know what ice wine is, it's made from grapes that are left on the vine until winter and then crushed at no more than -10 degrees centigrade. It's sweet and concentrated and delicious... Like liquid raisins, Dan says. We met our tour guide, Michel, and fellow tourists in the AM and set out on about a 90-minute drive to the Eastern Townships. The tour was in both French and English, but I think that Michel said more in the former than the latter. Dan would laugh at something, and when it came my turn to understand, there was nothing funny.  That's all right; y'all bring your French a few miles south and see what it gets you. 

The first stop involved the making of cocktails using ice wine. I had not planned on doing so much labor (I has to shake my own shaker) but the payoff was worth it. Here are some photos from that stop. 

The remnants of my first cocktail... Ice wine, lemon water, and maple syrup. It was sweet but delicious.

 

Next, we made a concoction of ice wine, blueberry juice, and rosemary.  The third one was not photo-worthy but had pear juice, tea, and... you guessed it... Ice wine!

These are the vineyards. The vines are all cut down for the winter and covered with white tarp - which is now covered with snow. 

You can see the tarps from this angle. 

The second place made Angels's Share, which is what they call the evaporated wine that disappears in the casks. I have no idea what the connection is to this photo. But this is Angel's Share in the making. 

We also learned the secret to sabering a bottle of sparkling wine. Will share for sparkling wine. Reginald and Teresa Dalle, we will show you next time we are at La Giro!

Our final stop was at a place that makes ice cider. The coolest part of this stop was when the guide poured hot ice cider, mixed with some other stuff, on top of snow, and we took Popsicle sticks to roll your own taffy, which the mixture turns into when it hits the snow. We were too busy rolling and eating to photograph. They also served us hot ice cider with whipped cream. That may have been my favorite thing all day.  Here's an apple tree from which the very wine that we drank may have come (analyze that sentence!!!):

Upon returning to the city, we went to Schwartz deli for a smoked corned beef sandwich and poutine. They had poutine with smoked meat on the menu but said that since they were a kosher deli, they could not combine the meat and cheese - but we could. And we did. Thankfully, we split both the sandwich and the poutine. Otherwise, we would have had to take a nap right there. 

Finally, here's a PSA for those who wear a fitness tracker. You don't have to actually walk to get your steps on; just take an ice wine tour on a bus with crappy shocks, and you will hit your goal before the sun goes down.  😎