Best Canadian sweet wine: award-winning icewines from Canada

When you’re considering Canadian sweet wine, you’re really considering icewine. This fabulously concentrated drink can only be made in bone-chilling temperatures when the mercury drops to a minimum of -8˚C. The grapes are harvested and pressed with the grapes still frozen, intensifying the flavour and creating a luscious but balanced end product.

A variety of grapes are used to make Canadian icewine, but the most popular are Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon for red icewine, and Riesling and the widely grown Vidal grape for white. Like the best sweet wines, icewine is the perfect match for desserts, but also pairs exceptionally well with blue cheese and also salty foods such as olives and anchovies.

icewine grapes freezing on the vine to make canadian sweet wine

This year’s IWSC saw an exceptionally strong line-up of Canadian sweet wines. Top of the list was the Reif Estate Winery Icewine Vidal 2021, which scored an impressive 96 points, scooping a Gold medal in the process. The judges loved the integrated notes of fizzy apricots, succulent peaches and a pinch of delectable sweet spice. Reif, located in Ontario’s warmest sub-appellation, is one of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s founding family wineries, having been established in 1982.

Another high scorer was Inniskillin’s Icewine Vidal 2022 (95/100pts). This particular bottle wowed the judges with its purity, winning praise for a ‘gleefully long, vivacious finish’.

In an impressive feat, Reif Estate Winery won a second Gold medal for its Grand Reserve Icewine Vidal 2019 (95/100pts) thanks to bright notes of candied orange peel, juicy apricots and sweet aromatic spice.

If you’re a sweet-wine fan and want something different to a Sauternes or Tokaji, Canadian sweet wines are where to head. Here are some of the best from this year’s IWSC.

vines in snow in canada's nigara wine region

HOW DO WE JUDGE THESE WINES?

We run a tightly structured, rigorous wine tasting process. That means that each wine sample is pre-poured into numbered glasses and assessed blindly by the judges. Most importantly, our IWSC wine judges are experts in their field, who work across all sectors of the wine industry. For evidence, see our full list of judges.

HOW DO WE SCORE THESE WINES?

Only the best wines sampled receive a Gold or Silver award. For example, to win Gold, wines have to score between 95 and 100 points. Meanwhile, Silver wines range from 90 to 94 points. Click here to read more on our scoring system.

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