Ice Wine is made when very sweet and ripe grapes are left growing on the vine until there is a good solid frost. Then the semi-frozen grapes are picked quickly during the night and immediately squeezed at low temperatures so they don't defrost. This means that much of the water in the grapes stays frozen. If the grapes melt they cannot be called ice wines and instead have to be labeled Late Harvest wines. The juice in ice wines is very high in sugars, acids, and extract (solids like minerals, proteins, etc.) because it doesn't have as much liquid water in it to dilute the juice. Ice wine grapes only yield around 20% of the juice of normally harvested grapes, so this is a very risky business proposition because one stroke of bad luck can lead to the loss of the entire harvest. High sugar levels in the juice mean high alcohol levels after fermentation of 9-11%abv, but even better high unfermented sugar levels in the finished wine so that it is sweet and balanced.

Ice wines can be intensely sweet and tend to have a heavy and syrupy body to them. They have strong, fresh fruit flavors like pineapple and tropical fruit, lychee, peaches, pears, apricots, raisins, spice, and honey. This is the key to ice wines- the fresh fruit flavors, as opposed to botrytized wines which get their sugar levels from the Noble Rot mold with the accompanying mature and aged flavors. The aroma may have fruit and floral notes, combined with assorted spices. For the best taste they should be served chilled to about 45°F, but not ice cold, in an apx. 9 oz. wine glass or a specially shaped ice wine glass like in the photo, to appreciate the flavor and aroma best.

The invention of ice wine was quite by accident. In 1794 there was a sudden freeze in Franconia, Germany. The wine producers had to squeeze the frozen fruit and they found that while the yield of juice was low, the sugar levels were quite high. It wasn't until the 1800's that wine makers started to purposefully leave the grapes on the vines until they froze. This then led to the development of ice wines as a style of dessert wine. A style that can only be produced naturally in certain parts of the world with the right climatic conditions.

Areas known for producing ice wines are in mostly in Western Europe and North America. In Canada the regions most known are British Columbia, Quebec, and most especially the Ontario region and Niagara Peninsula. In the US it is made in Oregon, Washington State, and the Niagara Region of New York State right across the border from Canada's best ice wine area. In Europe it is usually called Eiswein with Germany, the country where it was discovered, being the main producer. It is also made in Austria, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. In other parts of the world it is notably Australia and New Zealand that are making ice wine as well.

Canada produces more ice wine than anywhere else, with some of the best in the world coming from the Niagara Peninsula. In Canada it was Walter Hainle who made the first ice wine in 1973, so in only 33 years Canada developed into the world's largest ice wine producing country. Canada also has the most stringent standards in the world for producing Ice Wine, the grapes must reach a temperature as low as -8°C/18°F (the same as Germany's standard, Austria requires 7°C) and a sugar level of at least 35°Brix which is much sweeter than what Germany and Austria require. Canadian ice wines average at around $45 for a 375 ml half size bottle). Japan is one of the largest consumers of ice wines and the prices there can reach $300 for a 375ml bottle that retails in Canada of $45.

In Canada the grapes must be harvested on or later than November 15th, in Germany and Austria in late November or early December, but sometimes as late as January or February; although these wines tend to not be as good as those harvested earlier. Lately there has been outrage against a few fake ice wines. Fake, false, or counterfeit ice wines are made by picking very ripe grapes and freezing them commercially, a process called cryoextraction, not harvesting naturally frozen grapes from the vine. These wines are sometimes made in Australia, New Zealand; and in the US in California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington State where weather conditions don't allow for natural, on the vine, freezing. These cryoextracted wines are usually called ice box wines or Vin de Glaciére; they don't tend to have the color, flavor, depth, or complexity of the genuine article.

Because the grapes stay on the vines for an extended period, they must be protected from rain, birds and animals with netting and semi-permeable plastic sheeting that allows sun and moisture through while keeping the critters out. In Germany the major loss of grapes is to wild boar, which can't be easily prevented from decimating the crop.

Usually ice wines are made from botrytis free grapes, but this isn't really a major consideration and many times the plastic sheeting raises humidity levels so that the wines may have small botrytis levels as well. The usual grapes for making ice wines are Riesling, which make wines with elegant and acidic qualities and Vidal Blanc, a Canadian favorite, which have the fresher fruit and greater depth style. Some Canadian vineyards have been experimenting lately to create sub-styles of ice wine including red grape ice wines, although these don't seem to have the depth that the white ice wines do, and sparkling ice wines which may be the best of two worlds, sparkling and sweet. Ice wines can be amazingly delicious, but since they are so difficult to make, especially in quantity, the prices can be quite steep, at around $20-$100US for a 375ml half bottle.

Noted Eastern / Ontario Canadian producers are:
Château des Charmes
Colio Estate
D'Angelo
Gehringer Brothers
Henry of Pelham
Hillebrand
Inniskillin
Jackson-Triggs
Mission Hill
Pillitteri
Reif Estate
Riverview Cellars Estate
Royal DeMaria


Noted Western / British Columbia Canadian producers are:
Black Hills
Calona Vineyards
Domaine Combret
Gray Monk
Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards
Lang Vineyards
Mission Hill
Mt. Boucherie
Paradise Ranch
Quali's Gate
Red Rooster
St. Hubertus
Sumac Ridge
Tinhorn Creek


Noted US producers are:
Bonny Doon
Fiori delle Stelle
Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars

Best Austrian Dessert Wines
http://www.tastings.com/wine/best_producers.html?na=Austria&ty=Austrian%20Dessert%20Wines

Best German Rieslings
http://www.tastings.com/wine/best_producers.html?na=Germany&ty=German%20Riesling

Ice Wine festivals coming up next month

Niagara Icewine Festival
January 19 to 28, 2007
http://www.grapeandwine.com/

The Okanagan Icewine Festival
Sun Peaks Resort, British Columbia
Dates: 2006 Jan 19-22; 2007 Jan 18-21; 2008 Jan 17-20; 2009 Jan 14 - 18; 2010 Jan 13 – 17
http://www.owfs.com/festivals/ice-wine.htm