Ice Wine

Have you ever accomplished something by accident? Well, that is exactly what happened in Germany in 1794 when Ice Wine was accidentally invented. Legend has it that, the owner of a German vineyard was on vacation when he should have been home harvesting his grapes. A deep freeze blanketed the area while he was away. Upon his return, he and his staff decided to harvest the grapes anyway. The result was Ice wine. The mistake was a German secret until 1962 when it was commercially produced throughout Europe. The process for creating the wine starts off with a natural process. The grapes require a hard freeze, which means they may hang on the vines for many months after normal harvest. It is also a delicate process. If no freeze comes, the crop will be lost. If the freeze is too severe, no juice can be extracted. The water, actually bits of ice, is what's extracted. The intense flavor comes from the concentrated sugar and acid, which didn't freeze. After being pressed, the ice wine is stored in oak barrels for several months while it ferments.

The most famous Ice wine producers are Germany and Canada. Other countries, including the United States also produce the wine in smaller quantities. Since a freezing season has to be in place to produce Ice wine, location is key to production. This is a time consuming process. Due to the time the length of time and fragile weather systems, Ice wine can be expensive and come in smaller wine bottles. In some countries, winemakers use cryoextraction, or mechanical freezing, to simulate the effects of a natural freeze. These non-traditional ice wines are sometimes referred to as "icebox wines." Ice wine usually has a slightly lower alcohol content than regular table wine. Some ice wines from Germany have an alcohol content as low as 6%. Ice wines produced in Canada usually have higher alcohol content, between eight and 13 percent. Wine connoisseurs often argue about Ice wine and whether it improves with age or if it should be drunk young. Those who support the argument that Ice wine ages well believe that because of the high sugar level and high acidity, the wine is preserved for years. Those who disagree argue that as ice wine ages it loses its distinctive acidity, fruitiness, aroma, and freshness. We recommend that you try our Cab Franc Red Ice Wine. When first tasted, you will taste a sweet, delicate wine. You will be left with an underlying complexity for more. The light ruby red color is enhanced by a generous smell of fresh raspberry and strawberries. You will enjoy this special treat and thank the Germans for their accident many years ago!

You can make your very own ice wine with one of our Ice Wine Kits