The Ice House Winery

3.5−4* Great place if dry wines aren’t your thing!
In terms of an actual tour, demonstration of the process of making ice wine, this place does not have that. However, if you wanna skip the nitty gritty and going into straight testing, The Ice House Winery’s got you!
I can’t recall how much the other tastings were, but I *think* the best value is having a bit of everything (ice wine slushies, plain ice wines, & a ‘cocktail’) for $ 24/​2ppl. Not bad if you think about how much 1 mixed drink can cost when you go to a bar/​restaurant.
Actual bottles were expensivo, but then again, it’s ice wine. Besides, you don’t hafta buy anyway.
Don’t have super high expectations about getting a tour ‘n all that jazz, but do expect GOOD tasting of their offerings. That’s it!
P. S. Wasn’t really a ‘cocktail’ though. More like how shitty plain wine tastes AFTER you’ve had a bunch of ice wine samples and how much better it tastes AFTER you’ve mixed in a shot of ice wine.

Very cute and friendly place!
A little pricey if you want to buy a bottle of their ice wine but it’s nice place.
You can walk around the vineyard and have a good conversation while enjoying the wine tasting.
We went close to the closing time. It was a good thing they are open later than the rest of the winery’s around but I wish I had more time.

The Ice House Winery is the only winery I’m aware of that exclusively makes ice wines. What is ice wine you ask? Well I’m glad you asked. Without getting too technical it’s wine that is made from grapes that are picked and juiced while the grapes are frozen. The resulting wine is extremely thick and sweet and lends itself very well to adding flavor to other drinks (like champagne), to making slushies with, or pouring yourself a very small glass and sipping after a meal. Ice wine is only made in very select areas of the world and Ontario, Canada is the primary location for this type of wine. Because of the labor intensive process and nature of the potency of the wine it’s almost always sold in much smaller bottles than you would expect and at much higher prices (expect bottles in the $ 40 – 90 range).
My girlfriend and I went to a number of wineries in the area and this was our first stop. The place is very small and casual, a real family affair as we soon met the wine maker and wife during our tasting. The tasting was $ 15 per person but there was a 2 for 1 deal on their website. We got to each try a small shot glass worth of their ice wine slushies (they have 2 choices, a red and a white), 3 more ice wine samples paired with little nibbles they’ve chosen to show you how well they go with certain flavors (this was the only winery we went to that did this), and 1 «cocktail» which is a bit of the ice wine added to a regular type of wine. Doing the 2 for 1 deal definitely make this a great deal and the service we got was 1 on 1 and very friendly. We didn’t quite feel we became the ice wine experts that their website claimed we would be leaving here but we come out knowing more than when we arrived. Unfortunately we did feel a bit of pressure to buy something at the end of our tastings which when the expensive ice wines are the only available purchase, makes that pressure a bit uncomfortable. Also I know they were on the Canadian version of «Shark Tank» where the expert recommended they change a couple of their labels to have the «SLUSHIE» word prominently on the front to set them apart from their competition but when you’re putting down $ 50 for a small bottle of wine, personally I’d like the label to seem more elegant or artistist than to have that on there. The slushies we had were amazing though and I can’t wait to make them at home.
Their ice wine wasn’t the best ice wine we had that day but they did have the best deal for a tasting and it was an experience I’d recommend to anyone who wants to get the full ice wine experience.

Our barista was amazing and fun to do the tasting with. We enjoyed the different ice wines and LOVED their slushies. We ended up buying all 5 bottles they had!

There’s different cost to the different tasting options. There’s also an option to buy tasting online for a cheaper cost (which I didn’t find out until later. O well) we did the full tasting ($ 12 Per person but they deducted the cost of tasting if u buy a bottle of wine) Dave was very well verse with ice wine and gave my newbie friends a condensed history. The ice wine tasting comes with snacks pairing (this is the only winery with this option out of the 6 winery we went to). Try the ice slushie shot … It’s unique to this winery.

We found this place on Groupon and thought how interesting let’s give it a try. I’ve heard about ice wine and wanted to know what makes it different than other wines. I didn’t know what’s so special about it. Came here and loved the vineyard and it was really cute inside. The person that did our wine tasting was really sweet and answered every question we had about ice wine. Absolutely adore this place and I love ice wine so much now. This place is great and I love their ice wine slushies!

Have been to many wineries, sampled a lot of wine and a lot of Ice wine. Most wineries will not charge you for tasting if you buy a bottle or two bit Ice House still wants to collect $ 10 dollars from each person. Go to a real winery in NOTL and try their ice wine if you like it and want to buy I will bet they will not charge you for the tasting. Its too bad the wine was OK but I hate to be treated like that. Not really impressed let them make money from tourists that don’t know any better.

Not much of a tour. You kinda just get a taste of the 3 different wines and two smoothies and they tell you how they were on dragon’s den.
The wines were good tho.

Went for a tasting — $ 10 each to try the slushies, straight wine, and wine cocktails! Had a lovely conversation with the young girl working, who was very knowledgeable and friendly. We were the only people in there (it was quite early in the morning) and it was nice to have a «private tasting» if you will. We went to two other wineries — and felt the least pressured to buy here, it seemed like the «would you like a bottle?» conversation & presentation were a natural conclusion to the conversation rather than a forced sales pitch. While we enjoyed everything we had tasted, we ended up only buying 1 bottle as a gift. But that’s mostly due to the season — I’m sure if we had visited in the spring or summer we would have purchased more for ourselves.

The overall experience was eh. We came here because we had a free tasting coupon from our hotel. The table was extremely sticky and dirty and they didn’t bother to try and clean it up. The slushies were interesting and fun to try, and they were delicious.
My huge complaint is that we were sold the wrong bottle of ice wine. I never thought I needed to check my bag to make sure I had the correct wine. Especially since we talked in depth with the woman about how we didn’t like the Vidal at all. We’ve been on a total of four wine tours and countless purchases in the past five years and we’ve never had this happen. We specifically asked for a Cabernet Sauvginon but instead we had a Vidal in our bag, which neither of us like. Sadly we didn’t find out till after we drove home and were unpacking. I can’t find the receipt anywhere but I know that wouldn’t even help because after spending nearly $ 70 on a bottle of wine I am not about to pay shipping to send it back to get the correct bottle shipped to us.
I was extremely disappoint considering my boyfriend and I bought that to save for a special occasion. And on top of that we’re stuck with an expensive bottle of ice wine we’ll never drink.
Tip: Make sure they sell you the proper wine!
And bring treats if you love cats. They have a very friendly black cat on the property.

I really like that they specialize in ice wine and the staff know their stuff. It’s not my favorite producer of the sweet stuff but not bad at all. A little pricey but they do have deals on bundles usually and it’s a fun place to visit if you are in the region. Buy the tasting flight for a solid introduction to ice wine.

From the moment I walked into the Ice House I absolutely knew I would love it. It’s warm space that was originally a peach packing barn I first learned of The Ice House like most people I imagine from CBC’s the Big Decision. If you didn’t see it, Jim Treliving said yes.
Ice wine is a premium vino and a tasty dessert drink originally hailing from Germany. Prior to this I’ve only had it a handful of times, including my convocation from university. That said, our guide and co-​owner Karen was a dream and the entire experience from unique food pairings — dark chocolate and spicy pita chips with rieslings to vidals was brilliant.
Of course, let’s not forget the shots of their ice wine sushies. AMAZING! Worth a visit.

We’re up in Niagara Falls and decide to do the wine tasting in Niagara On the Lake. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, there are about 30~ wineries in this area (a quick 20min drive from the Falls) with an emphasis on Ice Wines (wines made from grapes that were frozen on the vine — making it super sweet and tasty).
The Ice House was the first on our wine tour, as we were coming from the Falls, and this was one of our favorite wine stops!
To start with, when you arrive, they greet you with an ICE WINE SLUSHIE. Sure, it’s only a shot, but it was DELICIOUS and it was a great way to kick off the tasting!
There was a fee for the tasting (I think it was $ 10 or $ 15?) and all of the wines are ice wines, but if you buy a bottle of their wine, they will waive the fee/​the fee goes towards the bottle. We got there right when they opened at 10am (the best part about wine tastings — perfect excuse to drink before noon! HA), and the lady that helped us (I think her name was Deborah?), was AMAZING! She pulled out some cheeses and housemade sausages to pair with the wines. When she found out that my husband wasn’t a fan of ice wines, she made him a «manhattan» with ice wine which he *loved*.
Since it was the first stop for the day, we didn’t buy anything from them right then… but when we came back the next day, although the lady that helped us wasn’t there, they still gave us a discount on the wines, and was just as nice and awesome as the day before.
Even if ice wines isn’t your thing, this place was fantastic! Friendly, helpful and fun!

My husband had never been to Niagara on the Lake and our first planned stop was the Ice House Winery since I know he loves ice wine.
Our overall experience was fantastic. We were quickly greeted and the various tasting options were explained. It is one of the most expensive tasting options in the area, but that is because it is all ice wines. You start with your choice of ice wine slushie. I could have had about 5 more. Very tasty and refreshing. Make sure you check in on Unilocal.It entitles you to an additional free ice wine slushie! You then try various ice wines and an ice wine «cocktail» The «cocktail» is ice wine mixed with a regular wine. The «food» pairings are very simple items like chocolate and wasabi peanues, but they work well with the tasting. Some of those doing the tasting were a bit pushy on buying expensive packages, but we weren’t pushed that hard. We did end up buying one of the packages that included the «slushie» wine and two regular bottles. Expensive, but worth it.
Whether you are a seasoned ice wine drinker or brand new to ice wine, I highly recommend a vist.

Nice small winery. Owner was giving tours/​tastings in their office. We had a young girl who had a great passion for their business. She did an excellent job. As others said the slushie shooters were fantastic. We enjoyed learning about the process and tasting the ice wines. Ice wine is very expensive. We bought 1 375 ml bottle and 2 200 ml bottles along with the slushie bottle for $ 199. Tasting was $ 15 per person. Interesting that this place appeared in the Canadian version of Shark Tank.

The first stop on an ice wine tour of Niagara on the Lake. Being huge lovers of ice wine, we knew we would like it here, as they only make ice wine. When we arrived, it was a little empty, and we weren’t sure what we were getting into. We decided to go for the full experience, which comes with a shooter of the icewine slushie, plus pairing of the icewines with different snacks. The ice wine slushie was so delicious, my boyfriend still talks about it to this day! We were serviced by the wife of the owner of The Ice House, so she was very knowledgeable about how ice wine is made, and telling us how she likes it. We tried their different ice wines, and she even mixed some of the ice wine with «regular» wine for us, sort of like an ice wine cocktail.
A great experience, and a definite place to stop if you love ice wine!

When you walk in you will get greeted with delicious ice wine slushes. They only make ice wines, tasting fee is $ 12 per person. It pairs with little bit of winery made sausage (very delicious but not for sale), bit of shredded cheese and chocolate. Surprisingly ice wines were going well with salty cheese and as well as sausages. Ice wine prices are $ 35 – 70 range. Staffs who helped our tasting were very hospitable and helpful.

Serves ice wine slushie shots for tasting. So fun and so refreshing!
Ice Wine + Slushie = Yummy!!!
The ice house was a cozy winery cabin. The hosts were very homely and welcoming. It felt like going to someone’s home and tasting wine. It was a very fun and very cozy tasting room. I went in the winter and we were the only guests. But I am certain during the summer, it is the HOT SPOT for visitors of all ages.
Another thing I liked about the ice house was it is trying to be innovative; they were trying to promote different ways to serve ice wine. On top of serving it as a slushie, they had a list of cocktails mixed with ice wine, which can also be found here:
. I think it is great they are trying to show people how to drink ice wine in different ways.
I would recommend this ice winery to anyone doing an ice wine tour in Niagara Falls, Canada.

Writing this review for The Ice House just giving me the urge to go down to my basement cellar to drink those 3 bottles of ice wine…
$ 70 a bottle?! But lucky it was Buy 2 get 1 Free. I do feel a little like I am in a infomercials…
Even after buying the wine, we still have to pay $ 10 for the tasting, at least the slushy is free. but it was quite informative and enjoyable. A little food pairing with some chocolate and nuts…
BTW, my Unilocal friend just said he loves the bottle. I guess I can just drink the wine and give him the bottle instead…
Cheers!

The Goliaths of the Niagara Ice Wine Industry make for grandiose Wine Tours.
The Jaw-​dropping Estates, acres upon acres of Vineyards, state-​of-​the-​art Machinery.
Countless knowledgeable industry Experts, underground Bat-​Cave Wine Cellars.
Back Vintages before you were born and enough Barrels to keep Donkey Kong busy.
Every Wine Connoisseur’s dream.
The David to those Goliaths is this Ice House Winery still in it’s infancy (est. 2005).
A former Peach Packing Barn is a rustic cozy charming site for all their Wine activities.
Little as this House/​Winery may be, it is home to some of the best Ice Wine products.
To see the beginning stage of a small scale start-​up Winery is a breathe of fresh air.
I’m truly glad I can still see a basic Farm-​like not overly commercialized Winery.
Feels more back to Earth, back to Nature.
The Big Decision…
[My Preferences]
[#1] 2006 Vidal Blanc Premium Icewine ($ 70/​375ml)
[#2] 2009 Riesling Premium Icewine ($ 70/​200ml)
[#3] 2009 Cabernet/​Dornfelder Signature Series Red ($ 70/​375ml)
Due to Winemaker Jamie Macfarlane’s objective to make «toasting» Ice Wines,
The Sugar Content doesn’t taste as sweet as Dessert ones, exactly my preference.
As with my Asian background, I prefer moderate sweetness rather than intense.
Prices are definitely on the higher-​end but we got the buy-​2-​get-​1-​free here. 3.5’d
With that onsite deal, it evens out to the more common Ice Wine dollar amount.
Loving my «Northern Lights» hand-​painted bottle by-​the-​way.