Ice wine is a type of dessert wine that is created from grapes left on the vine past normal harvest and are subjected to frost and freezing. While traditional wine has been around for thousands of years, ice wine has only been around for about 200 years. After the first deep freeze of the growing season they are harvested and the wine making process begins. The sugars and other solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated substance to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a small amount of very sweet and very concentrated wine. Since there is so little juice in each grape, it takes many more of them to create the juice needed to fill bottles; and as a result are sold in small (375mL) bottles with a high price. A typical bottle of ice wine retails anywhere from $35 to $60 but can reach upwards of $100 or more from acclaimed producers. Above Image Credit: Hopkins Vineyard
Ice wine has German roots, which is why you will commonly see the German spellings for ice, “Eis” and Wine, “Wein” combined as Eiswein. It is also very popular in Canada which makes sense considering their long sustained periods of cold and freezing temperatures. In fact, Canada is currently the world’s leading producer of ice wine. It is essential to harvest the grapes at the very first frost night of the year, because grapes left on the vine to go through a freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle can pick up unwanted flavors and ruin the taste. As with any grape or produce grown outdoors, deer and birds pose a threat to destroying the crop so nets and precautions must be taken to protect the grapes. As you can tell, there are many factors that contribute to the higher prices that these delicate wines fetch.
In Connecticut, several vineyards produce and bottle their own ice wines, some of them award winning. This year’s warm weather has created problems for winemakers across the country- and Connecticut is no exception. Here is a conversation I had on Facebook with Hopkins Vineyard:
Locally Available:
Sunset Meadow Vineyards Midnight Ice Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Goshen, CT ($50) – end your meal with a burst of tropical flavors such as lychee, mango and passion fruit with this delicately sweet nectar produced at a sustainably farmed Connecticut winery. Try it with Spanish flan or crème brûlée. ABV is 9%.
Image: Sunset Meadow Vineyards Website
Hopkins Vineyards- In the past, the farm hosted a multitude of varying agricultural life and crops, including the raising of sheep, race horses, grain crops, tobacco, and most recently, dairy farming. The first vines were planted in 1979. Their website offers this 2007, however they have been recently posting photos of this year’s harvest on Facebook.
Ice Wine 2007
Estate Bottled – $41.00 (375ml)
Estate-bottled, the traditional way. It shows harmonious, ripe fruit flavors of apple, peach preserve, and apricot. Perfectly sweet with well-balanced acidity. Food pairings: Peach and plum crostada, French apple tart, crême brulée, or simple sugar cookies.
Personally I don’t care for very sweet wines, dessert wines and ports. I recently tried a “Sweet Shiraz” that was horribly sweet, and made me gag. This is the same reason I will drive back to a coffee shop for a fresh brew if someone accidentally spikes it with sugar- just can’t do it. Ice wine however deserves a little exploration by all of you. Let’s hear your thoughts- shout out to me on Twitter @ctfoodandwine or on Facebook.
