Toronto - Part 10 Ice Wine and Niagara Falls

I saw the falls as a freshman in high school on a band trip that started in Chicago, went into Canada, then to the falls then into PA then Ohio then home, stopping to give concerts along the way. I was impressed with the falls then and still am. It was my husband's first trip to the falls so I decided to book a day tour there but one that started at noon, stopping at a winery school (yes you read that right), then on to the falls complete with seeing the falls illuminated at night. We were gone for over 12 hours and to me was the best part of the whole trip.

First let's start with the winery school stop. I never knew that Niagara is known as a wine making area and especially for a specific wine called Ice Wine. What was even more interesting that this is a school especially devoted to one getting a degree in wine making (what a way to get a college degree....wonder how many classes an instructor can do in one day before being sloshed? Niagara College Teaching Winery is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, part of the Niagara Peninsula wine region. The area has an interesting climate and mimics France's and Tuscany, Italy's growing season for grapes. Icewine, or Eiswein, originated in Franconia, Germany in 1794. Grapes are left on the vines until they are frozen and are picked during the night while they are still frozen and they are not allowed to thaw before they are crushed. When they are allowed to do this, it concentrates both the sugars and flavors of the grapes. Icewines are usually served as a dessert wine and are highly prized drinks that are created in Germany, Austria, and Canada. The Niagara region of Ontario, Canada is currently the most widely respected producer of ice wines.

My husband loved it. We had been trying to think of something to bring back to our employees and our kids that is specific to the area and I thought we had found it with the icewine. That is, until we learned the price of ONE BOTTLE of wine. Yeah, not in our price range. At the college, the price was $55.00 per bottle. Even at the airport at the duty free shop, the wines were 3 for $125.00. Still too much. We actually didn't end up bringing anyone anything.

On to Niagara Falls......as I said I have been there before although going as a freshman in high school in a group of 500 and going there with a small tour and as an adult are 2 separate things. We did things on this tour I had never seen nor done or maybe I did but I didn't remember. We first stopped at the beginning of the rapids area.


If you didn't know, Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River on the border between Canada and the United States. Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, the majority of which lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island. Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded during the last ice age, and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet, the height of the American Falls varies between 70–100 feet because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet wide. All pictures were taken on the Canadian side. Hubs went on the tour behind the waterfall (it wasn't handicapped accessible) and said it looked like a super heavy rain in front of your eyes. Together we did go on the Maid of the Mist boat ride and got absolutely soaked but it was an exciting boat ride. That evening after dinner overlooking the Falls, hubs got to 'illuminate' the falls since the controls are on the Canadian side. I couldn't go on this tour either but stayed down listening to the crowd uhhhhhh and ahhhhhhh every time our group changed the colors that were illuminating the falls.

This 1st picture is of all 3 Falls with the American to the left, the Bridal as the smaller one next to the American, and the largest (the Canadian Horseshoe) on the right.

This picture is of the American Falls and Bridal Falls close up to see all the boulders that the American side has. Yes that is a rainbow - at one point there were 4 at one time which of course was when the camera memory decided it was full and the picture didn't turn out when we tried to take it on our cell phone.

This picture is taken from a tower above the Canadian Horseshoe Falls and the only picture we have that got the entire Canadian Falls in.

The next picture is when we were on the Maid of the Mist and are rounding the corner to the Canadian Falls.

This picture is of the Canadian Falls as seen right up close on the Maid of the Mist. I wouldn't consider that a mist - more of a drenching rainstorm. Look at the water swirling around the boat. One could not hear anything close to the Falls.

All in all, it was a good trip. I was disappointed in the American Falls - the number of boulders and erosion is increasing and soon the falls will be gone while the Canadian ones are spectacular and one can see that they are well taken care of. It made me a bit ashamed to see the destruction (although natural) of a true American site. There was an attempt in 1969 to remove the huge mound of erosion at the base of the American Falls but was abandoned due to the cost of the project and has not been undertaken since. One can only hope it is taken up again.

Oh and the only other thing I have to say is that one has to be more than certifiable to go through those rapids then over those falls.