Grand River Valley Ice Wine Festival under way at 7 NE Ohio locations

Sep 30, 2023

Seven places – six wineries and a distillery – are participating in the Grand River Valley Ice Wine Festival this month.The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 2023 Grand River Valley Ice Wine Festival is taking place at seven locations in Northeast Ohio through March.

The food and wine pairings are available noon to 5 p.m. at six wineries and a distillery. Patrons can visit in any order they choose. Wines and an appetizer will be served, and area maps will be provided at all locations.

Cost is $8 per place.

Ice wine is made by letting grapes freeze on the vines. Grapes are then picked, and the sugar content remains high. The result is a thick, sweet-tasting dessert wine that serves as a nice after-dinner drink but is not too high in alcohol content.

Locations

(All are open seven days a week unless noted.)

7840 Doty Road, Madison, 440-466-3485

Dish: Jambalaya

Wines: 2020 Riesling Ice Wine, 2022 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Cherry Bourbon Ice Wine (choose two).

5585 N. River Road W, Geneva, 440-466-8466

Dish: Fire and ice chicken meatball with sweet and spicy glaze

Wines: 2021 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Sparkling Moscato

5750 S. Madison Road, Madison, 440-298-9838

Dish: Gnocchi with dried apricot brown-butter crispy sage.

Wines: 2020 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Maple Ice Wine, Concord Port-style dessert wine (choose two)

4573 Ohio 307, Geneva, 440-415-0661 (closed Monday and Tuesday)

Dish: Salted caramel ice cream and chocolate explosion ice cream

Wines: 2021 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Simply Mad Habanero infused Ice Wine

7259 Warner Road, Madison, 440-307-9586 (closed Wednesday)

Dish: Cinnamon scone

Wines: 2021 and 2022 Rosé of Vidal Blanc Ice Wine

6062 S. River Road, Geneva, 440-466-6676

Dish: Infused truffle by F Bomb

Wines: 2019 Blush Ice Wine, 2022 Concord Ice Wine

6202 S. River Road, Geneva, 440-466-6604

Black Door Tavern signature smoked barbecue ice-wine pulled pork tacos with pickled slaw

Ice wine cocktail: Black Door Planters Punch with Red Eagle rum and South River Vineyard blush Ice Wine.

Like wine? Options vary for buying wine. Online retailers offer chances to choose what you want, curate cases and find discounts. Here's a selection to consider:

brightcellars.com: Monthly club matches you with wines after you take a "palate quiz."

cellarswineclub.com: Allows you to choose the number of bottles you want.

exoticwine.club.com: Offers subscription wine boxes from wineries in less accessible markets.

spirithub.com: Bottles and gifts galore here – wine, spirits, sparklers, decanters, more.

splashwines.com: Choose a curated case or build your own.

vivino.com: Using crowd-sourced data to personalize recommendations, the seller offers a huge selection.

winc.com: Four wines tailored to your tastes are shipped monthly. Has review component.

wine.com: Large online seller often offers new-customer discounts.

wineawesomeness.com: Three- and six-bottle curated shipments.

wineenthusiast.com: All-encompassing site for accoutrements - racks, glasses, openers, storage, gifts.

wineonsale.com: Allows you to select by varietal or region.

zachys.com: Includes a variety of ways to search/shop, plus has info on auctions.

I am on cleveland.com's life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here's a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.

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