The winery restaurants are the best places to stop for food and wine matches with a surprisingly European flare

, and sometimes lower, but there's still plenty to offer for visitors


Minus 10 degrees Celsius is a feeling that's difficult to explain until you've felt it.

It's the moment your face begins to feel the chill and then moments later, almost nothing at all. Until, that is, the wind lowers the temperature just a few degrees further and it becomes colder than you knew possible.

Those were the bracing conditions I faced when I travelled to Canada for the first time - to Ontario's Niagara-on-the-Lake for the ice wine festival.

In the winter, Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada becomes a winter wonderland with snow covering the road and its Loyalist-style buildings

Despite the snowfall and the freezing temperatures, the vineyard workers are out pruning ahead of the new season at Peller Estates Winery

From the air, you will be able to see both sides of the glorious Horseshoe Falls (above), the biggest waterfall of the three in Niagara

Although you can take a horse-drawn carriage ride in the freezing temperature, it's actually much more fun in the summer months

I arrived on a Thursday afternoon, just before the weekend's festivities began.

The snow had piled up on both sides of the grid-lined roads that divided up the town. Its Loyalist-style buildings, dusted in white, gave the whole place that Christmas feeling - even if it's long after the festive period.

In the waning light of the day, everything had taken on a shade of dusky blue.

There's no restaurant at Harbour House Hotel, where I was staying, so I headed for dinner at Zee's Grill. Small and intimate, the menu was all about comfort food – exactly what I needed after facing the cold head on.

Driving from Toronto, you will be able to spot neat rows of vines on both sides of the road - you're in the heart of Ontario's winecountry

As the water tumbles down, enormous clouds of mist is created, which travels several hundred feet into the air and falls down like rain

Sitting in a helicopter, you will also have unrivalled views of the town of Niagara Falls. The town is also home to several historic sites

After a restful night's sleep, I woke up to a beautifully sunny day – perfect for flying over the Niagara Falls in a helicopter.

NIAGARA FALLS TOP TIP The helicopter is the only way to get aerial views of the falls and you can book a ride at Niagara Helicopters.

You can also get up close to the falls by walking along Niagara Parkway, which is free to do.

Visit Journey Behind the Falls to peek behind the water and learn about Niagara's history.

Bring an umbrella or waterproofs as the mist falls like rain. Advertisement

The falls are not as popular during the winter months, which meant that I didn't have to wait long to get strapped into a window seat and lifted into the air. At CAD$140 (£70), it's perhaps the most expensive 10 minute journey I've ever made but it's well worth it for the unrivalled views over the falls.

Niagara forms a natural border between the USA and Canada and, from the air, you get a panoramic view of both sides. The route takes you from the whirlpool upstream until you reach the Horseshoe Falls – the biggest of the three waterfalls in Niagara. Even at a few hundred feet in the air, we're still flying through the mists created by the falls.

Down on earth, it was time to do some wine tasting.

My first stop was Inniskillin, one of the first producers of ice wine.

This lusciously sweet wine is produced by fermenting the pressed juice of frozen grapes. Legally, it can only be classed an ice wine if the frozen grapes are harvested and pressed at temperatures of minus eight Celsius and below, which means most of the work is done in the dead of the night.

In reality, according to Bruce Nicholson, winemaker at the estate, the grapes stay on the vine 'for as long as it takes'.

I had missed the harvest for this year but by the sound of things, I had a lucky escape. Instead, I tried something truly incredible – a sparkling ice wine. Soft bubbles pushed their way through a gorgeous sweet wine with notes of apricot, lychee and a little smokiness. It's a surprisingly wonderful accompaniment to cold-smoked scallops.

At Inniskillin, the sparkling ice wine (left) made from Vidal grapes (right) is one not to be missed. They also have other vintages available to taste at their bar

A surprising match with the sparkling ice wine is cold-smoked scallops (above), which brings out some of the smokiness of the wine

On the way back to the hotel, I learnt about another speciality - the butter tart, a sort of treacle tart with flaky pastry. Accompanied by black coffee, it proved to be a more than delightful antidote to jet-lag.

In wine country, almost every meal is about food and wine matching and my dinner at Trius Winery's restaurant is no exception.

Chef Frank Dodd, who worked at The Savoy and The Dorchester in London before laying his roots in Canada, brought a European sensibility to the plate.

From the wine-friendly menu, I chose a hearty confit duck leg with winter cranberries, Puy lentils, chorizo, turnips and sea buckthorn sauce. Not only stunning on a plate, it also went remarkably well with Trius's Pinot Noir. I should add that wines are of exceptional value with a four-course pairing starting from just CAD$35 (£17.50) - a bonus.

Farm-to-table is a popular concept in Canada right now and Treadwell, one of the most popular restaurants in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is at the very forefront of that. Their entire menu is put together with distinctively Canadian ingredients, from prosciutto produced by Pingue in Niagara Falls to mustard made by Toronto’s Kozlik's.

Richard Bering is the fourth generation of the family to make maple syrup at the farm. Behind him, the many grades of maple syrup

Historically, the sap of the maple tree is collected in the metal buckets like those above. These days, a tube is connected to the tapped trees year round, ready for the season to begin

At the beginning of the season, the maple syrup comes out lighter but it gradually concentrates and becomes darker by the end

Coming from Europe, the idea of eating what's in season seems so obvious but it's not until I spoke to Jason Parsons, the celebrity chef heading up the fine-dining restaurant at Peller Estates that things really clicked.

Parsons, who was 'born in Coventry but raised in Canada', admitted that he had once been a 'typical irresponsible chef' who designed the menu before looking for the ingredients. But a pursuit of sustainability by chefs like him had actually driven the approach to agriculture from monoculture back to small-plot farming.

Now, Parsons uses 98 per cent Canadian ingredients and has forsaken lemons. But truffles and olive oil, it seems, he can't do without.

One of Canada’s other culinary export is of course maple syrup. Nestled amongst the wineries is one of Niagara's biggest producers of maple syrup - White Meadow Farms.

The family owned farm has been harvesting the sap from red maple trees for several generations. The sap is tapped via a hole drilled into the side of the tree. After some eight hours of boiling, the excess water evaporates, leaving a sticky, sweet syrup.

At Vineland Estate, a Cuban sandwich was matched with a dry Cabernet Merlot. The new red wine was made with grapes sorted using their new visual sorter that takes a picture of each berry to decide whether it's suitable (right). Hernder Estates Winery had a pulled pork bun with coleslaw and onions matched with their Cabernet Franc ice wine for the Discovery Pass (left)

Maple syrup changes colour according to the season, going from amber to maple red. The flavour changes too, from barely-there to almost caramelised. My favourite was the dark, though I’m told the best-selling is the golden.

It was all about the wineries for the rest of the weekend.

My Discovery Pass allowed me to visit several wineries to try snack-sized portions of food and wine matches, created just for the festival. The impressive looking Hernder Estates had a pulled pork bun with a Cabernet Franc ice wine and the equally grand Vineland Estates served up a Cuban sandwich paired with their new Cabernet Merlot dry red.

Keen to explore more of the wines on offer in the region, I also stopped by Cave Spring, 13th Street Winery, Southbrook and Stratus, where I discovered four very distinctive styles. Canadian wine is in its relative infancy but judging by conversations with some of the winemakers, it's come leaps and bounds in just a few decades.

I missed the harvest but judging by the amount of clothes worn by these vineyard workers pruning the vines, I had a lucky escape

It's my final stop that really defined Niagara for me.

Staff at Harbour House Hotel recommended Backhouse, an inconspicuous restaurant that recently opened behind a petrol station.

The owners, Ryan Crawford and Bev Hotchkiss, met when he was a chef and she, a waitress. Their romance blossomed into a marriage and now the couple own the neighbourhood restaurant where it all began.

It was the perfect spot for a wind-down dinner after a weekend of sugary-treats.

The food is simple - a mix of wood-fired pizzas and bar snacks with well-considered cocktails and local wines - and the service is friendly. And then at the end of a really laid back meal, the piece de resistance arrived.

A single marshmallow, toasted over the fire of the pizza oven on a gnarly wooden stick so it's just crispy.

That sticky, gooey feeling, it suddenly made the whole place feel like the sweetest place on Earth.

WINERIES TO VISIT Inniskillin www.inniskillin.com Don't miss Inniskillin, one of the most iconic wineries in Niagara. They only serve food during special events but it's worth trying a few of their older wines at the bar. Trius www.triuswines.com Many people go to Trius for the restaurant but it's also possible to do tours and tastings. They really prize their sparkling wines but there's also plenty of other options. Henry of Pelham henryofpelham.com Henry of Pelham has a tasting flight of four wines for just CAD$5 (£2.50), which includes the ice wines. Hernder Estates Winery www.hernder.com The grand and imposing building of Hernder Estates Winery could be seen from the road but it's even more impressive up close The impressive entrance of Hernder Estates is perfect for photography and many locals will host their weddings or events here. Vineland Estates www.vineland.com There's enough space at Vineland Estates to land a helicopter - and they do for special tours. But if you're just popping in, try one of the new red wines and ask about their new grape sorting machine. Cave Spring cavespring.ca Cave Spring is known for their Rieslings but winemaker and founder Angelo Pavan also had a penchant for Burgundy wines as well as those of his ancestral Italy - both of which comes through in his red wines. 13th Street Winery www.13thstreetwinery.com All the walls inside 13th Street Winery is painted white and on them hang very colourful works of art by local artists that you can buy Eccentric French winemaker Jean Pierre Colas, originally from Chablis, is developing his own Canadian style with some really good sparkling wines. The winery also showcases pieces from local artists though many flock to its bakery for the butter tarts as well. Southbrook www.southbrook.com Southbrook is only one of two certified biodynamic vineyards in Ontario and perhaps amongst the first wineries to introduce the concept of orange wine to Canada. Stratus www.stratuswines.com Already considered one of the icon wines of Canada, the approach to winemaking at Stratus is quality above everything else. The Stratus red is its flagship tipple. Peller Estates Winery www.peller.com The approach to Peller Estates is lined with some of their wines. But in the cellars downstairs, they've created an ice wine room where you can experience what minus 10 Celsius feels like, even in the summer As one of the biggest estates in the region, Peller resembles a French chateu. But with a celebrity chef at the helm, its restaurant could be its star attraction. Discovery Passes www.niagarawinefestival.com Niagara hosts wine festivals throughout the year where the Discovery Passes are available. You get eight experience tokens to spend for $40 and it's a great way to explore the region. Advertisement

TRAVEL FACTS Qin Xie stayed in a premium guest room at Harbour House Hotel www.niagarasfinest.com/properties/harbourhouse. Prices start from CAD$305 per night, including breakfast and daily wine tasting There are regular flights from London to Toronto Pearson with Air Canada www.aircanada.com. From there, it's a two hour drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake. For more information about visiting Niagara, see www.visitniagaracanada.com Advertisement



