Tasting all of the world’s wines before I die is an impossible feat. It is not that I worry about not having tasted everything but I do fret about missing out on the lesser known but hugely exciting ones.

At a tasting last week, I was trying to cull the list of possible ‘wines to try’ to a manageable number when a nice man from Top Selection (www.topselection.co.uk 0845 410 3255) — a London-based wine supplier — asked me if I fancied trying a glass of sweet wine.

Being a mannerly soul, I agreed. It had an amazing tangerine orange hue with hints of gold and green and the aromas were just as impressive.

Can you imagine that smell of freshly baked apricot tart with almonds? Sweet and nutty and so comforting? Well, that was what this wine was like. Going back a second time there was a little more sweet spice, caramel and orange rind too.

The palate did not disappoint, being a finely tuned balance of refreshing acidity, delicious sweet orchard fruit and a lovely opulence that never became overbearing.

Most wine tasters dread being put on the spot, being asked to identify a wine they have just tried and I am glad, nobody posed me the question as I would have been a million miles off the mark.

This was a sweet wine from Quebec, Canada. It is made like an eiswein, which is to say that the fruits are harvested when they are completely frozen in the harsh winter months.

It is one of the most challenging and labour intensive ways to make a dessert wine and the results can be phenomenal.

Still, my biggest surprise was yet to come; this heady nectar was not made from grapes but from apples; Spartan and Empire varieties to be precise.

If someone asked me to produce a list of 100 wines to try before they died today, there is no question this little gem, Leduc-Piedimonte Ice Cider 2007, would be on it.

I think it is a steal (given the cost of production) at £21.99 for a 37.5cl bottle. I am grabbing myself a bottle for Shrove Tuesday on the 8th.

I know lots of people prefer a savoury pancake and if you are looking for some wine suggestions then I am enormously fond of the Loire Valley Domaine Joel Delauney Cabotines Rosé (£8.99, Stevens Garnier www.stevensgarnier.co.uk) that has beautifully ripe, crunchy red fruits; a really smiley, versatile glass of wine.

Alternatively, Marks & Spencer’s Barbera d’Asti 2007 (£7.49) has good punchy blue fruits with hallmark Italian freshness that makes their wine so often the ideal match for carbohydrate-led foods.