REGIONAL DELICACY Wineries host ice wine festival

Ice wine is made with grapes that have frozen on the vine.
By LAURA SAMUEL MEYN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Northeast Ohioans now have a delicious reason to be grateful for the long winter: The early freezing conditions characteristic of our area have inspired area vintners to make ice wine, a sweet wine that requires grapes to freeze on the vine before they are picked.
Come March 13, five such wineries will co-host the inaugural Grand River Valley Ice Wine Festival. Beginning at 1 p.m., each winery will provide visitors with a sample of its 2002 ice wine, plus appetizers, all for $5 per couple. Bottles of the 2002 ice wines will also be available for purchase. The wineries will continue to serve wine and appetizers through the late afternoon.
"The Ice Wine Festival celebrates the best thing about a Northeast Ohio winter," says winemaker Nick Ferrante. "Ice wine is something that can only be made in climates like ours. You need a long enough and hot enough growing season for the grapes to ripen, then you need an early, cold winter to freeze them." Even with such an ideal climate, ice wine production, which originated in Germany, is still quite new to Northeast Ohio.
In fact, Ferrante was the first area vintner to make ice wine; he first tried his hand at it in 2000, inspired by wine he'd tasted in Canada, where the growing conditions are similar. Ferrante's first attempt at producing ice wine was so successful that he won awards for it, and now he annually reserves a portion of his Vidal Blanc grapes for wintertime ice wine production.
Catching on
Several other area wineries have since begun producing ice wine, inspired by Ferrante and by the ice wines of Canada's Niagara region. Northeast Ohio's Debonn & eacute; Vineyards quickly sold out of ice wine its first year in production -- and it was Debonn & eacute;'s special events coordinator, Cindy Lindberg, who brought the area wineries together for the upcoming ice wine festival.
"We had gone up to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada, which has an ice wine festival," she said. "It was a lot of fun, and I thought we could provide that kind of tourist attraction here."
As an indication of the enthusiasm for Lindberg's plan, the three formal wine dinners that will follow the festival's afternoon tastings are already sold out. "We're very excited. We want to welcome everyone up to our little neck of the woods," said Lindberg.
During the afternoon tastings, each winery will feature a distinct special event for its visitors. Debonn & eacute; Vineyards will host an art show by Cleveland artist Hector Vega, who designed the winery's ice wine label this year; Vega will be on hand to sign bottles for customers. Weather permitting, Debonn & eacute; will also feature a dog sledding demonstration conducted by friends of the winery.
Pointers
Chef Nina Reichenbach at Ferrante Winery will give a cooking demonstration from 2 to 3 p.m. to show visitors how to make some of the winery's signature appetizers, including the Apricot Coins recipe below.
Also at Ferrante, restaurant manager Carmel Ferrante will talk to visitors about using wines to prepare appetizers and entrees, as well as pairing wine with food. Laurello Vineyards will host an art show; South River Vineyards will give its first 100 guests a complimentary ice wine glass; and St. Joseph Vineyard will include a lecture-demonstration titled "The Making of Ice Wine."
For more information, contact any of the participating wineries: Debonn & eacute; Vineyards (440) 466-3485, Ferrante Winery (440) 466-8466, Laurello Vineyards (440) 415-0661, South River Vineyards (440) 466-6676, or St. Joseph Vineyard (440) 298-3709.
THE RECIPES
While it is best known as a dessert wine, ice wine doesn't have to be saved for sipping with the sweets. Carmel Ferrante of Ferrante Winery worked with Ferrante chef Nina Reichenbach to develop recipes -- both sweet and savory -- that use ice wine as an ingredient, and also pair well with it. She shared the delicious results with The Vindicator in anticipation of Northeast Ohio's first Grand River Valley Ice Wine Festival.
APRICOT COINS
Serve with Ferrante Ice Wine or Ferrante Grand River Valley Riesling.
20whole dried apricots
2ounces goat cheese
1tablespoon heavy cream
1tablespoon Ferrante Ice Wine
3sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed, minced
1tablespoon honey
20toasted walnut halves
In a small bowl, mix goat cheese, heavy cream and ice wine until smooth. Pipe or place large dab of cheese onto apricots. Sprinkle with thyme. Drizzle with honey. Top each apricot with a walnut.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
MIXED GREEN AND PEACH SALAD WITH ICE WINE VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
1/2cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2cup peach syrup or jelly
1/4cup Ferrante Ice Wine
1tablespoon sugar
8cups mesclun salad mix
1/4cup toasted pine nuts
1/2cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Poached peaches (recipe below)
In small bowl whisk oil, vinegar, syrup, ice wine and sugar. Spoon vinaigrette over chilled greens, toss lightly to coat. Garnish with pine nuts, cheese and peaches.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
POACHED PEACHES
2medium peaches, thinly sliced
1/2cup Ferrante Ice Wine
In large skillet, heat ice wine over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add peaches and simmer over low, 8 to 10 minutes until peaches are soft and wine is reduced. As an alternative, peaches can be served over vanilla ice cream.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
FRUITED COUSCOUS
1/2cup Ferrante Ice Wine
1/2cup chicken broth
2teaspoons olive oil
3whole dried apricots, minced
3/4cup couscous
In medium saucepan, bring wine, broth, olive oil and apricots to a boil. Stir in couscous and cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 to 8 minutes. Fluff couscous lightly with fork. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings.
STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN
Serve with Ferrante Ice Wine or Ferrante Grand River Valley Riesling.
1(1- to 2-pound) pork tenderloin
6ounces goat cheese
6tablespoons apricot preserves
1cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1/2teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
7thin slices proscuitto ham
5tablespoons olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice tenderloin in half, horizontally to open flat. Pound tenderloin to about 1/8-inch thickness. In small bowl, mix goat cheese and apricot preserves. Spread mixture over tenderloin. Add spinach leaves and thyme. Roll tenderloin jelly-roll style. Wrap proscuitto around tenderloin.
In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat for l minute. Add tenderloin and sear on all sides for 2 minutes, remove from skillet and place on greased baking sheet.
Cook tenderloin about 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice tenderloin 1-inch thick. Serve with fruited couscous or roasted red-skinned potatoes.
Makes 2 servings
CHOCOLATE ICE WINE FONDUE
Serve with Ferrante Ice Wine.
1/2cup heavy cream
8ounces semisweet morsels, your favorite
2teaspoons Ferrante Ice Wine
To serve:
Fresh strawberries
Whole dried apricots
Cubes of pound cake
Place a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Put the cream in the bowl and heat gently. As soon as the cream starts to bubble abound the edges, turn off the heat and whisk in the chocolate. When the chocolate has melted, add the ice wine and stir well. Transfer the chocolate mixture into a fondue pot and keep warm on the fondue burner. (Note: Low heat is best to ensure mixture will not burn.)
Serve with strawberries, dried apricots and pound cake cubes. Use fondue forks or bamboo sticks to dip the fruit and cake into the chocolate fondue.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.