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Icewein A dessert wine made from frozen grapes. It means “ice wine”. According to tradition, the grapes must be frozen naturally in specific weather conditions. By law it is -7°C in Canada and -8°C in Germany.
If the temperature is lower, the juice will no longer be obtained. Today, thanks to advanced technologies, the method of mechanical freezing, or cryogenic extraction, is used so as not to depend on the weather.
Wine made in this way is called “freezer wine”. It is no longer referred to as “icy” in Canada, the United States, Germany and Austria. It has a strength of 9–12%, it contains a lot of sugar (150–300 g/l) and increased acidity (10–14 g/l). Vidal blanc and Riesling varieties are used in production.
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History of ice wine
Germany is considered the birthplace of icewein, but its roots go back to Ancient Rome. Writer Pliny the Elder in the XNUMXst century BC. e. mentioned in his writings that some varieties of grapes remain on the vines until frost.
His contemporary, the poet Martial, recommended not to harvest until the last month of autumn or until it was beaten with frost. No details, unfortunately, have been preserved. Perhaps the ancient Romans did not even describe icewein, but berries that were left to raisin in order to make late-harvest wine from it.
Still, the birthplace of icewein is Germany. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, grapes were harvested before the onset of cold weather. The autumn of 1794 was surprisingly warm, and the harvest was postponed, but the happiness did not last long. The temperature dropped sharply, the grapes froze.
The wine producers were left with only 2 choices: do nothing or make a drink from what they have without thinking about the consequences. In the end, they decided that there was guilt, and they did not lose. Thus, one of the main treasures of the wine industry was discovered. There is another version, according to which icewein is the result of numerous experiments by the immigrant Walter Heinle.
More detailed information can be found in sources dated February 8, 1830. In 1829, near the town of Bingen in the Rheinhessen region, which was engaged in winemaking, the winter turned out to be terribly frosty. Some manufacturers have decided not to touch the vines, letting them feed the birds. Then they accidentally noticed that, having tried the berries, they wrote out strange circles and fell to the ground. This interested winegrowers, they tried the juice themselves, and when they felt the sweetness, they made ice wine.
Throughout the 1960th century, until the 6s, frozen berry crops were rare. According to the documents, there were 1958 fees together with the last one from XNUMX. Then for the first time ice wine was made at the Schloss Johannisberg enterprise. This is due to the fact that frosts were rare.
A number of ice wines were created in 1961, this led to an increase in popularity in the future. In the process, they began to use artificial lighting from portable generators to maintain the temperature during the cold twilight, and a plastic film that protected the fruits from birds.
Today, more ice wine is produced in Canada than in all countries combined. The first wine was made in 1984 at Inniskillin in southern Ontario, in the city of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The winery at that time was owned by Karl Kaiser. Before him, icewine was accidentally made in British Columbia due to unexpected cold weather. In 1983, Kaiser and three other businesses left the crop until winter to get the drink. Birds prevented one (Inninskilin and Ewald Reif), others gathered an extremely small crop (Pele Island and Hillebrand).
A year later, Kaiser took into account the mistakes, protected the fruits with nets and then made wine. The basis was the Vidal variety. Kaiser expanded production, made it commercial. The drink quickly gained popularity. The production method was adopted by other Canadian winemakers because the country’s climate proved to be ideal for the huge scale of production. Summer pleases with hot days and lasts a long time, autumn is warm, frosts begin abruptly.
In 1991 Canadian ice wine won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo and became a worldwide success. Within 10 years, the range of wine varieties has expanded.
By 2000, Canada was the world’s largest wine producer. In Germany, at the same time, production volumes declined due to climate change.
The manufacturing technology of Canadian ice wine has changed. The crop is not harvested until spring, when the grapes ferment on their own. Canada bears the name “Mecca for connoisseurs of ice wine.” Every year, the world famous Niagara Icewine Festival is held in his honor.
Ice wine production process
When the bunches of grapes are beaten by the first frost, it is necessary to wait two weeks, and then start harvesting. This happens at night by the light of powerful lamps and the temperature is not higher than -7–8 °C. To prevent the berries from thawing at the touch of their hands, winemakers put on thick rubber gloves, because the picking process is not automated.
Then the berries are sent to the winery for the purpose of delicate pressing. This must be done quickly so that the melted water does not fall into the concentrated grape juice.
The fruits are immediately sent to the crusher, then a mass of crushed berries (pulp) is placed under a press, where the must is obtained from them, or, in simple words, juice. It makes no sense to describe further manufacturing steps, since they depend on the specific manufacturer.
Ice wine is made in modest quantities, because sometimes the harvest is damaged by heavy rains, sometimes by flocks of birds that find no other food in the cold season. In addition, manual labor is expensive, and to get 0,5 liters of wine you need as many as 16 kg of grapes. This increases the cost of the drink. From white varieties, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner are used, from red varieties – Merlot, rarely Cabernet Franc.
Bright representatives of ice wine
Winery Markus Huber 2012 Berg Riesling Eiswein
Produced in Austria. Light, although it has a bright honey taste with notes of passion fruit, lychee and pineapple. It has a distinct sourness.
2007 Hunt County Vineyards Vidal Blanc Ice Wine
American wine. A typical representative of sweet and sour ice wine. It has a long exposure, traditional apricot taste with notes of raisins and honey-fruity aroma.
Casa Larga 2008 Cabernet Franc Ice Wine
Wine from America. Combines the sweet and sour taste of red fruits (cherry, strawberry, cranberry, pomegranate). It has more fruits than sweets.
Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ reserve Vidal Ice Wine
The wine is produced in Canada. Its taste harmoniously combines tropical fruits and honey. The aftertaste is long floral.
Ice Wine Longing Flower
This wine is from Moldova. It has a golden color, a bright aroma of mango, peach and rose. It tastes like honey with notes of mango and papaya.
How and with what to drink ice wine
Icewine is usually cooled to 10–12 °C before serving. Special wine glasses are suitable for him. As a dessert wine, it is sweet and fruity. Desserts with sourness, as well as white chocolate, cakes with fruit filling, and non-hard cheeses will go well with it. Gourmet dishes include blue cheeses and foie gras.
It can become a component of such cocktails as Fiery, Louisiana, Xeres.
How to distinguish original ice wine from a fake
French, Canadian, German and Austrian producers are asked to list ice wine or iced wine. The latter does not apply to ice, but frozen. There is no such rule for Russia and Georgia, so you will have to take a closer look at the label and back label.
The wine must be clean, without sediment, have an even color without color differences.
The appearance of the container must be perfect, because the wine is not cheap, and the manufacturer is interested in the maximum quality of the product.
Interesting Facts
Since 2004, ice wine has been produced in Israel using the technology of pumped ice. It is liquid, like water or jelly, but has the potential of real ice.
Until the XNUMXth century, late harvest wine was very popular. By the time of harvest, the berries have time to become covered with a special fungus.
To make 1 liter, you need about 5 times more grapes than a standard dry wine.
Due to the high level of sugar and acidity, it does not lose its taste properties for about 40 years.
Relevance: 26.03.2020
Tags: Wine and vermouth, Wine brands