Buffalo/WNY Annual Icewine Festival Gathering Jan 11-13, 2019
3Hi All! Things are in the planning stages for our annual Icewine Festival Gathering up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada and Sushi and Bubbly Dinner at Buffalo’s famous Seabar. (I’m not sure how I’ll be updating things in this thread, but I will find a way. It will be infinitely more difficult to make edits, etc.)
We’ll start the weekend Friday evening featuring a “Taste of Buffalo” and then do an Icewine warm-up at our house with some of ddeuddeg’s famous cheesecake. Saturday morning, we’ll head to Dick & Jenny’s for a substantial breakfast to lay a foundation for all of the Icewine tastings and food pairings that we will be enjoying. We’ll purchase our Discovery Passes and stop at 8 wineries in the NOTL region to try their food pairings. $45 Canadian or $35.16 US per Pass or check out the Holiday duo of Passes: $75 Canadian or $58.61 US per Pass! What a savings! Plus, they are offering a Black Friday Discount. Here’s the link for the Niagara Icewine Festival Website where you can pre-purchase your pass.Niagara Icewine Festival Website. Should you decide to purchase your Pass online, be sure to use a fee free credit card, if you are purchasing in Canadian funds. (We always find that we get a better rate using our fee-free credit cards than the rate that might be shown on a website. The current exchange rate is: 32%–This really makes the purchase of Icewine more enjoyable!
We may decide to make a quick stop at Niagara Falls for those who have not seen it in the winter and then, back to Buffalo for our Annual Sushi and Bubbly Dinner at Seabar featuring dinner creations by James Beard semi-finalist 2008, 2009 and 2010, Mike Andrzejewski, who also beat Bobby Flay in Bobby’s show, “Beat Bobby Flay”! And, we bring our own bottles of bubbly to share amongst the group!
Sunday, we usually plan a brunch meet-up for those who would like a chance to continue checking out the culinary experiences that abound in Buffalo! There are also a ton of breweries and distilleries that have opened up in Buffalo over the past few years . . . Yep! This is what we do in Buffalo: eat and drink!
Come join us!
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Hey, I’m off this weekend. Hmmm… sounds enticing!
Let the harvest begin
In case the link doesn’t work: http://winesinniagara.com/2018/11/niagara-icewine-grape-harvest-begins/#more-15901
I’m going to try to make it
@tiger7610 Yippee!
And, we have our first non-locals joining in: mwfielder and his lovely wife, hfielder (I can’t remember her screen name!). Yippee!
@bahwm it’s @texashaze. And we’re excited to come!
@bahwm @mwfielder @texasHaze
The tour is a slippery slope!
@mwfielder @rjquillin @texasHaze Ah, but they know that already!
@rjquillin You really should come out here and find out just how slippery!
Justinrsanderson & his lovely wife are in!
While we all know molarchae and I would love to join, it’s hard to envision it working out. Maybe I can sneak away at the last minute!
But if the Buffalo contingent wants to come to Toronto on Dec 8 there may just be a second birthday party to check out…
@klezman
Would love to come up, but we have another commitment that day.
All depends on my LW’s work schedule, hoping to make it again. We love Buffalo in January!
@chipgreen
swmbo here, being from 26° 20’ 8" N, has an entirely different opinion!
@rjquillin But the fire is so delightful.
So let it snow, let it snow! Besides we are mostly indoors anyway, or in the cars
It was a great time last year, on my first Festival visit. Not sure I can make it this year, but if anyone is on the fence I heartily suggest joining in.
Back room at Seabar is booked and date is confirmed with Chef Mike for Jan 12th!
@bahwm
We are in!
@chipgreen Yippee! Will you be joining us for the entire day on Saturday?
@bahwm
TBD
20% chance. Not sure if it will make sense logistically, but the wife thinks she has that weekend off of work. It would probably be a late-ish decision and depend on many factors, including availability of in-law sitters. Keeping my eye on this for sure.
@North316 Your in-laws need sitters?
@ddeuddeg Don’t we all at some point?
Bump!
Is one bottle of bubbly enough for the dinner? I’m planning on stopping to get some before I leave ithaca for break
@tiger7610 I would say one bottle should be fine—especially if each couple was to bring one. We’ll know better what singletons we have closer to the date. You might be able to split the cost with someone. It’s up to you.
@bahwm Let us know what you would like us to bring. We are bringing a wine suitcase, so it will be easy.
@mwfielder How about if you bring your favorite bubbly to share at the Sushi and Bubbly dinner at Seabar Saturday night? That would be all.
Hoping to see more people sign up for this. @InFrom @coynedj @Winedavid49 @rjquillin @MarkDaSpark @catcoland @noodles @lamplighter Just for fun, shaking a few trees.
@ddeuddeg Sorry, looks like we’re out this year. (And I truly am sorry, it was a fun weekend.)
@InFrom
Awww…
@chipgreen I know!
@ddeuddeg We need passports, right?
@Boatman72 You need passports to go to Canada. If you just wanted to join us for the sushi and bubbly dinner on Saturday as chipgreen and his lovely +1 have done a couple of times, no passport needed.
@ddeuddeg
While I was optimistic for a while of joining this year, I’ve been assigned to sub-contractor site/source inspections in lovely Colorado Springs that entire week. It would have helped if their first deliveries weren’t so horrible, then this wouldn’t have been necessary.
It’s now officially on the bucket list!
But hopefully sooner than later.
@ddeuddeg @rjquillin Oh, bummer! RJQ, you will be missed!
One of these years I’ll make this event…unfortunately…not this time
@mommadeb
Should we buy the passes ahead of time, would that help or do we think they wont run out?
@tiger7610 No chance they’ll run out. It’s the first weekend of the three weekend festival.
Hey guys! Who else is in? We’re less than two weeks away from this fun event. Please let me know what your arrival plans are so that we can plan Friday’s festivities. Also, let me know where you are staying and if you are interested in planning on brunch on Sunday. I’ll need to make reservations for that. I need to give Chef Mike a final count by Tuesday, January 8th. I wish there was an easier way to keep things in order, as in the days of old . . .
@bahwm
Looks like the usual for us. LW has to work Friday but will get off a little early so we will meet you guys out somewhere or swing by su casa for some ice/dessert wine tasting, depending what time we get into town. Still no passports so we will be hanging in Buffalo Saturday, most likely making a trip to Bar Bill’s again (you got us hooked on that place!). Of course, we are both in for the sushi and bubbles dinner with the request that Nancy has an alternate meal or orders off the menu. Also, true to form, we are in for Sunday brunch and will be driving home from there. Still working on accommodations…
@bahwm @texashaze and I will be coming in Friday during the day and will be available Friday night. Staying at the Hyatt Regency downtown. Our flight out Sunday is at 3:20pm, so we should be good for brunch Sunday! We have our passes bought and will bring the passports. I’ve never been to Niagra Falls, so I’d love to see it!
@mwfielder @texasHaze Did they send the passes as paper passes or digitally?
@mwfielder @texasHaze Oh, and Niagara does not rhyme with Viagra!
@bahwm @texasHaze Digital
@mwfielder @texasHaze Check with your wireless provider so that you don’t get nailed for services in Canada with your digital passport. Roaming charges can be really nasty for just a few minutes of use in Canada without a special plan. ddeuddeg and I are prepared to drive so you won’t need to drive a rental car into Canada. Carpooling is best for our travel into Canada anyway. Don’t forget your passports and cold weather gear: hats, gloves, scarves, boots.
@bahwm @texasHaze Good thought about the wireless carrier. Verizon has a travel plan option for $5/day per device that you can activate on the days you want to use it. We’ll bring the passports and winter gear!
@bahwm @mwfielder @texasHaze Yeah, don’t forget the long underwear, it came in handy last year during the outdoor marshmallow roast/icewine tasting. That was a memorable stop!
We also needed every layer we had during our detour to see the Falls.
@bahwm
Update: We will be staying at the W. Seneca Country Inn.
@chipgreen I was going to ask. That’s close by. I think the place where you usually stay is now a La Quinta–we drove by there a few weeks ago. What time is LW getting off of work?
@bahwm
She said 3pm but by the time she drives home and is ready to leave it will be more like 5 so we will probably roll into town around 8pm. Do you have any definite plans yet for Friday night?
I’m definitely in for all day saturday event. As before, would prefer to carpool to canada. Both friday and saturday are up in the air for me right now.
@tiger7610 Could you please translate this. It says definitely in for all day Saturday, and then says both Friday and Saturday are up in the air.
@ddeuddeg See this is what happens when there is no edit button: I’m in for saturday for sure. Friday and Sunday are up in the air. I will be in Buffalo, just not sure what my plans are for friday and sunday.
We will be living vicariously through you all! Enjoy the festivities!
OK, gang–I just received info from Chef Mike A regarding the cost of the dinner at Seabar. It will be $90 per person this year and there is no corkage or room fee, but it will include sales tax. Gratuity is extra–of course, we need to tip our server well. I expect that we will be having a dinner that will far exceed our highest expectations. I checked with Mike re: the increase in price. He is planning a 6 to 7-course dinner, at a cost of less than $12.00 per course, after he pays the state tax.
To quote Mike’s email: “I don’t think I can possibly be any more fairly priced. The ingredients alone warrant the cost, but also please convey to them that I spend 2 days preparing the dinner personally and aside from what my time may or may not be worth I have to pay somebody to cover the 2 days that I am dedicating to this event. I hope that everyone understands where we are coming from, and realized that I put a great deal of effort and care into this dinner specifically. .
Sincerely Mike A”
For those of us who have been there and have experienced the marvels of Mike A’s culinary expertise and attention to detail, this is a small price to pay for such genius. We would not be able to touch a dinner of this caliber at this price in NYC! These are my humble thoughts.
@bahwm No worries! Looking forward to it.
@bahwm
No worries here either (well worth it) but still request that LW can order off the menu.
@tiger7610 @mwfielder @texasHaze @chipgreen @Boatman72 @North316 @catcoland @noodles @lamplighter @rjquillin @coynedj @InFrom @MarkDaSpark Hi Guys & Gals! Last night I wrote a post about dinner at Seabar and the cost of the dinner. However, I forgot to tag people.
So, please check the Buffalo thread. And, we’re less than a week away! 
Ahhh this looks amazing! I’m unfortunately growing a sister for Victoria this year (due at the end of February, can’t come soon enough). I’ll definitey be in next year though! I love me some niagara ice wine!! @ddeuddeg @bahwm
@noodles Congrats! We had no idea! We can always head out to Seabar for a night out after the harvest is complete! Or, you might just want to do that with your hubs! The dinner won’t be as fancy, with so many beautiful courses, but it will still be excellent! I look forward to meeting you one of these days! How old is Victoria?
Do you guys think you’re going to go to Harbour Estates? They are having their icewine sale again - 50% off. molarchae and I would happily delegate purchasing to any of you provided we can eventually meet up & swap either in Toronto or SoCal
@klezman I have no idea, but I’m happy to help!
@mwfielder Well, y’all know our preferences I think. Just let us know what, if anything, y’all get for us. That 50% off sale is perennially tempting.
What bubblies are you planning on bringing, so maybe we can get some peeps to double up.
@bahwm
2009 Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs magnum
@bahwm Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee
@bahwm
We can bring something besides Iron Horse if a little more variety is preferable. I feel like kind of a homer bringing IH for the 4th time in 5 years (albeit a different IH each time) and with mwfielder already bringing some IH, maybe it’s time for me to branch out, haha.
@chipgreen At this point, ddeuddeg is planning on bringing an IH Spirit of '76 mag (That could change, too.) Do we sense a theme here? Ha! I haven’t had an IH that I didn’t like! mwfielder is a definite–he has already begun his journey with the lovely texashaze. tiger7610 is bringing something French or Portuguese. Penny is bringing a Mumm-Napa. Lou is bringing something French. So, chip, if you want to bring something different, it’s up to you. Not sure what our other friends are bringing.
@bahwm
OK, I am going to bring a bottle of Wedding Cuvee to double up with mwfielder but still bringing the Blanc de Blancs mag. So, more IH instead of less, lol.
I’d like to open the Blanc de Blancs as an aperitif, especially if we are left waiting for anyone stuck at the border (ha!). There should still be enough to pair with a first course that will likely be salad-based.
I actually have 2 different bubblies, one is french and one is portuguese. They are in my car at the moment so I dont know the names, so if anyone does not have a bottle I can always provide one. Where are we meeting at saturday? Also could I carpool with someone? I’m staying on west tupper street, so I was going to just take an uber in the morning to either B&D house or to whoever else is driving. And then I can just walk back from seabar.
@tiger7610 We’re still working out a lot of things about logistics. ddeuddeg & I will be providing the transportation during the day on Saturday. There will be 6 of us heading up to Canada: the Fielders, Lou, you, & us (sorry for the awkward sentence construction). We are planning on Dick & Jenny’s for breakfast on our way up to Canada.
We haven’t even had a chance to look at the details on the website and offerings to plan our itinerary. That will be a task for tomorrow–at least for ddeuddeg. I’m not sure how much time I’ll have during the day. I always like to get us to wineries to taste different varietals of icewines. Some wineries have been playing it safe and doing a late harvest instead–just in case there isn’t a proper freeze. As much as I like late harvest wines, I prefer to stick with the icewines, when I can.
We will be stopping at the Falls because the Fielders have never seen them. We are 13 for dinner on Saturday night. We are looking at 7 PM for a start time.
Thanks to everyone who came out to this year’s Icewine Festival Extravaganza! On Friday we sampled wings and a Buffalo Fish Fry at Sportsmen’s Tavern and then to Eckl’s for Beef on Weck and then, to our house for cheesecake and Icewine warmup. Saturday brunch at Dick & Jenny’s and then, straight through the border to samples icewines and food pairings. It seems to me that these food pairings were a lot heavier than in the past. We’ll post our stops later. @mjfielder and @texashaze froze their buns a bit at Niagara Falls.
@bahwm One of these times I will make it to the Icewine Festival…
Sushi and Champagne 2019 was quite the epic dinner. I hope that I will be able to post the pics en masse. @texashaze has pics from earlier in the day.! Pics may be posting a bit sideways. Sorry. I am trying to post the bubbly and then, the food, in order according to the menu.! enter image description hereenter image description here
It looks like I can only post 2 pics at a time. Oh, boy. This will be a process! Here’s the menu!
2nd course:
3rd course:
4th course:
5th course:
6th course:
7th course:
We had an extra with dessert:
The damages amongst 12 of us:
I goofed up: the first Iron Horse pic that I posted of the Blanc de Blancs was the gathering bubbly. So, each wine and food pairing is off by one. Figure the food goes with the wine in the next pair. Sorry. It’s a learning curve and I can’t edit.
@winedavid @ddeuddeg @chipgreen @mwfielder @texasHaze @tiger7610 @InFrom @klezman @rjquillin @catcoland @noodles @mommadeb @North316 @coynedj Check pics of sushi and bubbly from Saturday night’s dinner.
@bahwm Nice Job!
Thanks @bahwm for posting all the pics! Also, thanks to you and @ddeuddeg for putting together another great weekend! It was wonderful to spend time with you as always, and to meet @mwfielder and his lovely wife @texasHaze and see @tiger7610 and everyone else again. Chef Mike outdoes himself every year and the bubbles were delicious as well.
Almost forgot to mention; ddeuddeg 's Three Cities in Spain cheesecake was soooo good! As amazing as Chef Mike’s dessert was, if forced to choose I would take the cheesecake!
??? Do tell.
@chipgreen @bahwm @ddeuddeg
@InFrom Might just be my new favorite. Recipe on epicurious.com. Three Cities of Spain Coffeehouse in Santa Fe, now defunct, is where it got its name.
@ddeuddeg @InFrom
I think it is my new favorite as well. Not only was the flavor delicious but the texture/consistency was perfect, as was the crust. Just an amazing job all-around! <salivating>
@chipgreen @InFrom You are too kind. Let’s call it beginner’s luck.
@chipgreen @ddeuddeg @InFrom You are too modest
We all know luck has nothing to do with it!
@chipgreen @ddeuddeg @klezman It looks fabulous. Can’t wait to try it.
BTW, I’ve been thinking about how the big shindig was over MLK weekend last year. It really is lucky you planned it for last week this time around (and yes, dodging a big winter storm is pure luck.)
I love the pictures, clearly everyone was having a great time.
@texasHaze Thanks for posting the pics! Glad you guys were able to join us! Also, glad it was last weekend and NOT this weekend! They are predicting a doozy of a storm on Saturday - Sunday with a possible 10 - 18 inches of snow!
@bahwm @ddeuddeg @chipgreen @tiger7610
@mwfielder and I had a blast! The food was delicious and I already can’t wait to come back. It was so nice to see @bahwm and @ddeuddeg again, and to meet @tiger7610, @chipgreen and his sweet wife Nancy!
I posted some of my favorite pictures