![]() Who Makes Ice Wine?Ĭanada is the world’s largest producer of ice wine. If you aren’t afraid of hard work and you have sturdy, warm boots and winter clothing, being part of an ice wine harvest can be an extremely memorable event. In return, the vineyard provides hot and hearty meals, gifts of regular wine, and a festive atmosphere. Many smaller vineyards recruit friends and family to do the job, and sometimes urgent calls go out to the community for assistance. ![]() Nearly all winemakers pick their grapes by hand, in just a few hours, before pressing the grapes in unheated spaces - all in the middle of winter! The monumental task of assembling a workforce to perform exhausting physical labor all through the night in freezing conditions with just a few hours’ notice isn’t easy. The entire process is extremely labor-intensive. Grape preservation and weather conditions are only part of the challenge. Wine presses can break if winemakers try to press the grapes when the temperature is too cold. Other times, the frost is too severe, rendering the grapes unusable. ![]() What’s more, there’s no telling when the perfect frost will come - or if it will come at all. Starlings, deer, and insects all love feasting on the grapes designated for ice wine. During this time of waiting, they’re susceptible to damage, rot, and raids by birds and other critters. The ripened grapes hang on the vines for several months until winter sets in. The grapes used for ice wines require a hard freeze after they are ripened. To say that making ice wine is a tricky business would be an understatement. A cheese plate with figs, dark chocolate, honey, and a touch of pate would be the perfect set of nibbles to accompany ice wine. Ice wine also goes well with rich, buttery, strong foods like cheese and foie gras. It can also be enjoyed on its own as an alternative to dessert. Ice wine’s intensely sweet flavor pairs well with sugary desserts like fruit and chocolate. Half-size bottles and gift bottles containing as little as 1.7 ounces are common. A little definitely goes a long way! For that reason, ice wine is often sold in smaller bottles than regular wine. In fact, it’s about twice as sweet as a soda pop. It’s a highly regulated process that ensures that consumers can be confident about what they’re buying.Įskystudio / Flavor And Pairings The term “ice wine” can only be applied if the grapes are naturally frozen and if their sugar level measures 35 degrees Brix (a measurement of the amount of sugar in an aqueous solution) or higher. However, that’s where the flexibility ends. Many different kinds of grapes can be used in the process, including riesling, cabernet Franc, chenin blanc, vidal blanc, and merlot. Only the highly concentrated juice is pressed from the frozen berries, leaving behind the icy water crystals and producing an intensely flavored product. Working quickly so that the grapes don’t have time to thaw, winemakers pick and press the grapes while they’re still frozen. ![]() It’s made from grapes that have frozen on the vine, which happens with air temperatures of 17.6 degrees. Ice wine is a very sweet wine that’s often served with dessert or at the end of a meal. Whether or not the Romans were on to something has been lost to history, but one thing is for sure: Canadian winemakers are taking their advice and surrendering their grapes to the frost - and the results are nothing short of spectacular. And the poet Martial recommended that grapes be left on the vine until November, or until they stiffened with frost. In the world of viticulture, ice wines are the new kid on the block - or are they? Back in Roman times, Pliny the Elder wrote that certain grape varieties should not be harvested until the first frost had occurred. ![]()
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