ICE WINE

  • SUB-TOPIC Of ICE WINE
    • What is Ice Wine
    • Ice Wines of the Old World
    • Ice Wines of the New World

1) WHAT IS ICE WINE

ICE WINE– Wine Produced From Grapes That Have Been Frozen While Still On the Vine.

  • Ice Wine is Produced From Grapes Left On Vines Past Late Harvest to Freeze. When Grapes Freeze They Shrivel Into Icy Pellets While Concentrating Sugars, Acids, Fruit Essences. Grapes Pressed Frozen So Water Crystals Remain In the Press and Sugar Content of Remaining Must Increase.

HISTORY- Making Ice Wine Goes Back to Franconia, Germany in 1794. Rumor Has it That a Freak Drop In Temperature Froze the Late Harvest Grapes Before They Could Be Picked.  Not to Waste the Harvest They Processed the Grapes and Liked What it Produced.  After This Event it is Said That Ice Wine Was Born.
CULTURE- It’s Canadian Tradition That Ice Wine is Drunken at Special Breakfast Celebrations.

  • VARIETALS POSITIVELY EFFECTED By FREEZING GRAPES
    • White= Bacchus, Chenin Blanc, Ehrenfelser, Gewurztraminer, Grunner Veltliner, Kerner, Riesling, Scheurebe, Sylvaner, Vidal Blanc, Vidal, Seyval Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Semillon
    • Red= Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese
  • COUNTRIES WITH A CULTURE OF PRODUCING ICE WINE
    • America   |   Austria
    • Hungary   |   Germany
    • Romania   |    Slovenia
    • Switzerland  |   Canada
    • America

VITICULTURE-  CHALLENGES– If Weather Doesn’t Freeze Fast Enough Grapes Rot and There’s a Chance For a Lost Harvest. Grapes Shouldn’t Be Effected by Botrytis Prior to Freezing, Only Healthy Grapes Stand Up to Freezing Temperatures.

  • In Late Fall Nets Have to Be Placed Over Vine For Protection of Birds, Boars and Deer.
  • Low-Yields 50% to as Low as One-Fifth the Amount of Juice They Would Normally Get Pressing Grapes.
  • Canada Requires Temperature at 17.6° or Lower For at Least 3 Days.  Before the Harvest of Frozen Grapes an Inspector Has to Access the Grapes For Approval.
  • Germany Requires Brix Level to be Over 35 Degrees.
  • Thick Skinned Grapes Do Better For Producing Ice Wine, the Thicker the Skin the Longer the Grape Can Stay On the Vine Without Rotting.
  • There is Always a Danger of the Grapes Roting Before the Freezing Weather Comes.
  • Grapes Are Over Ripe, Late Harvest and Raisining When Freezing Starts.

CRYOEXTRACTION- Process of Artificially Replicating Frozen Grape by Freezing Grapes With Refrigeration.

VINICULTURE- Sugar and Dissolved Solids Don’t Freeze But Water Does Allowing For a Concentrated Grape Must to Be Presses.

  • Must is Very High In Sugar and Difficult to Ferment. (Hostile, Often Stops Short)
  • 6%- 10% ABV.
  • Takes 4/ 5 Times as Many Grapes  to Produce  a Single Bottle of Ice Wine.
  • ICE WINE EVALUATION
    • Sight: Pale/ Gold
    • Aroma: Lychee, Papaya, Mango, Dried Apricot, Tangerine
    • Palate: Sweet(180 G./L. -320 G./L.)/ +BODY, Pineapple, Honey, Caramel, Creamy
    • Structure: Medi Tannins, +Abv., Medi+Acid
      • PAIRING… Foie Gras, Creme Burley, Fruit Salad, Spiced Asian Appetizers
      • CHEESE… +AGED/ Blue

2) ICE WINES Of The OLD WORLD

EISWEIN PDO.      @Lake Neusiedl, Burgenland

  • WIES= Gruner Veltliner, Riesling, Scheurebe, Traminer, Welschriesling
  • ROT= Zweigelt
  • GEOGRAPHY- Austria, REGION–Burgenland, Traisenthal
  • VITICULTURE- Never Freezes Before December Leaving Grapes to Really Ripen.
    • Botrytis Not Good For Ice Wine Production, Harvested, Pressed When Frozen.
    • PRACTICES– Requirements: Temperature -7° C./ 19° F. Sugar: 25° KMW.
  • VINICULTURE- +AGED/10 yr., Branded In 375 Ml. or 500 Ml. Bottles
      • Estate/ Producers- Gsellmann , Hillinger, Huber, Hans Christine Nittnaus , Schloss Gobelsburg, Weinrieder
  • HISTORY- Since ?
  • EISWEIN EVALUATION “Austria“
    • Sight: Golden
    • Aroma: Ripe Stone Fruit
    • Palate: Sweet/ +BODY
    • Structure: Low Tannins, +ABV.    Medi+Acid
      • PAIRING…                CHEESE…

EISWEIN    @Mosel, Rheingau

  • GEOGRAPHY- Germany, Mosel/Rheingau
  • VITICULTURE– CHALLENGES–  In Great Year Producers Make All Styles In Same Vineyard From Multiple Passes/ Tries.
  • VINICULTURE– Grapes Left On Vine Until Weather is Below 7° C./ 19° F. and Sugar Between 110°- 128° Oechsle.
    • The Best Eiswein is Intentionally Produced, From Pristine Grapes Not Effected by Botrytis.
    • When Grapes Are Pressed the Frozen Water Remains to Create a Highly Concentrated Must. When Fermented the Wine is Intensely Concentrated With High Acidity.
    • Will Always Contain Some Residual Sugar, For Its Unable to Ferment Completely Dry.
    • Not Artificial Freezing Permitted.
    • Estate/ Producers- Dr. Loosen,  Dr. Paul Bergweiller, Maximin Grunhauser, Schloss Vollrads, Schloss Saarstein
  • HISTORY- Purposely Produced Since 1800’s, Commercial Production In 1960’s
  • EISWEIN EVALUATION “Germany“
    • Sight: Hazy/ Golden
    • Aroma: Bruised Apricot
    • Palate: Sweet/ +BODY, Carmel
    • Structure: Low Tanins, +ABV., Medi Acid
      • PAIRING… Anchovy Appetizers   |    CHEESE… Blue(Gorgonzola)

3) ICE WINES Of The NEW WORLD

ICE WINE    @Canada

  • WHITE= Chardonnay, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Saval Blanc
  • RED= Cabernet Franc
    • Thick Skinned Grapes Do Better For Producing Ice Wine, the Thicker the Skin the Longer the Grape Can Stay On the Vine Without Rotting.
  • GEOGRAPHY- REGIONS-Niagara, Ontario, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
  • VITICULTURE- First Canada Ice Wine In 1972
    • CHALLENGE– If Weather Doesn’t Freeze Fast Enough Grapes Rot and There’s a Chance For a Lost Harvest. Grapes Shouldn’t Be Effected by Botrytis Prior to Freezing, Only Healthy Grapes Stand Up to Freezing Temperatures.
    • In Late Fall Nets Have to Be Placed Over Vine For Protection of Birds, Boars and Deer.
    • Yields Are 5%- 10% of Normal Grapes. 10 Pounds of Grapes Are Needed to Produce 375 ml. Bottle
    • VINICULTURE-
      • Grapes Are Over Ripe, Late Harvest and Raisining When Freezing Starts.
      • Brix. Measurements Are Usually Between 38.5% and 41.5%.
      • Canada Requires Temperature at 17.6° F./ -8° C. or Lower For at Least 3 Days.  Before the Harvest of Frozen Grapes an Inspector Has to Access the Grapes For Approval.
      • Harvested Berries Are Immediately Crushed Using Heavy-Duty Hydraulic Basket Press.
    • Estate/ Producers- Cave Springs, Flat Rock, Jackson-Trigs, Mission Hill, Inniskillin, Pelee Island, Peller, Pillitteri, Reif
  • PIONEERS~ ~Karl Kaiser~
    • Moved From Austria to Ontario, Canada, In Late 1960 and Started Growing Grapes to Make Ice Wine.

ICE WINE     @Finger Lakes

  • WHITE= Riesling
  • RED= Cabernet Franc
  • GEOGRAPHY- America, STATE-New York, REGION-Finger Lakes
  • VITICULTURE- Ice Wine
    • Estate/ Producers- Casa Larga, Hazlitt, Sheldrake Point

ICE WINE    @Pacific North West

  • WHITE= Riesling
  • GEOGRAPHY- America- STATE-Oregon, Washington
  • VITICULTURE- Ice Wine
    • Estate/ Producers-

TRANSILVANIA FOOTHILLS DOC.     @Romanina

  • WHITE= Feteasca Alba, Muskat Ottonel, Traminer
  • RED=
  • GEOGRAPHY- Romania(Interior)
  • SOILS- “Metamorphic”, “Sedimentary”, Limestone, Red-Iron Earth
  • VITICULTURE-  ? ha. Planted
  • VINICULTURE- Ice Wine
    • Estates/ Producers- Cramele Recas

**Refer to “BIBLIOGRAPHY/ Sources” For Details On Scholarly Works Referenced.