Ice Wines

The local newspaper had an article about "ice wines." I had never heard of them before. Any views on these types of wine? The wines seem rather pricey, but since they had pick each grape I guess they are rather labor intensive.

Tom

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Reply to
mary
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The one I have tried was made in Canada, by Legends Estates. They are VERY sweet, intense tasting. This was a "low" price one, a 375ml bottle cost about $30 US. Lets just say that I could have gotten more value for my money with a (less sweet) late harvest German Riesling. It was an interesting flavor - quite different from any other wine I have tasted. I have not tried a true eiswine - there is a difference in techniques. The true eiswine is not picked until after the grapes have frozen while still on the vine, one reason for the high price - the weather is variable enough that the grapes may be underripe or overripe at the time of the freeze. From what I have read, the icewines are made by freezing the grapes after they are picked (although this may not be universally true), which would seem to me to give a different flavor. For me, it goes along with the several meads that I have tried - interesting, but I'll stick to more "mainstream" wines most of the time. YMMV.

Jim

Reply to
422Tango

They're one thing in traditional Germany (Eiswein), where I believe they were historically a novelty item, to recover something from a bad situation (grapes caught by frost), unusual and unpredictable. Can be uniquely and subtly flavored, and they vary in finished sweetness.

Something else indeed around Ontario in recent decades, where there is more Eis than Wein, and these are made deliberately as a local specialty. Still, more encouraging than was the Ontario Pinot Noir I tried there in '89 ... And there too credit is due, Pinot Noir is always difficult and we would never get anywhere were people not willing to try.

You have to give the wine industry credit in general: People try it everywhere. Tom Stevenson's "Sotheby's" Wine Encyclopedia (not to be confused with his "Christie's" Champagne encyclopedia -- does he have the auction firms bidding against each other?) includes entries on serious efforts in Texas and Mexico, for example. One of my cherished clippings is a well-done magazine photo of a group of experienced cowhands around a campfire, horses tied up, covered wagon nearby, hoisting balloon glasses of Chardonnay.

Max

Reply to
Max Hauser

True German eiswine is from frozen bunches picked from the field, and crushed shortly thereafter, before they can thaw. The water freezes first, and the high sugar is concentrated in the liquid portion.

These grapes are frequently picked very late in the year. I have had eiswines picked on Christmas day, New Year's day, and one picked on Jan 17.

The wine can be artificially made by freezing picked grapes, then crushing.

Not much juice, so very high price

Reply to
gerald

Also Canada has Icewines made in the traditional German method - expensive, but not quite as expensive as in Germany. There is also Icewines in the Finger Lakes in New York State (Just on the other side of the border with the Canadian region) - though I do not think there is regulation about the nature of the frozen grape as in Canada and Germany.

I have yet to find a bad Icewine, myself.

Reply to
Bromo

Who told you that? That is a load of crap.

Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) standards are Ontario's and British Columbia's answer to France's AOC, Italy's DOC, and Germany's Qualitatswein mit Predicat system. All VQA Icewines are made the same way German Eisweins are, picked and pressed only when they are frozen solid. They can't even pick them until they have had several nights of solid freezes:

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For general standards of the VQA system, including allowed varitetal, standards, inspection and verification standards, see:

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and

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Dennis Windsor, Ontario

Reply to
Dennis Rekuta

They are expensive because it takes much more grapes to produce a bottle (the grape are dehydrated by the cold).

I personally prefer riesling ice wine. It's a little bit off topic but you can also give a change to ice cider

regards,

mary wrote:

Reply to
GG

This takes us back to a discussion we had several months ago. What requirements have to be met (in different countries, of course) in order to label a wine a "late harvest" wine? afaik, there is no definition of such a type of wine in Germany; hence no labeling requirements. Rebuttals are welcome.

To me anyway, a "true" icewine (or eiswine) is made from grapes that have frozen on the vine. I know that some wines are made from grapes that are frozen after a "normal" harvest and are then labeled "icewine" (in the US, anyway). I seem to recall some effort to make this practice (the labeling, anyway) illegal in the US. Can anyone help me out here?

As long as it's "most of the time". One should venture out from time to time. Most of the time when I've done this I've struck out (a baseball term that may be untranslatable) but sometimes I've come upon a real treasure.

Vino To reply, add "x" between letters and numbers of e-mail address.

Reply to
Vino

Of the 4 Canadien Ice wines I have tried, my favorite is the Pellar Estate Vidal. I haven't had one in a long while, so I can't give a better TN, but it was full of exciting flavor. I stick icewines in the freezer for 15 minutes or more before drinking.

Inniskillin is popular. I found that their Vidal drank a bit more elegantly than the PE. Not as exciting flavors to me though. I thought the Trius was awful. I had one other that wasn't too exciting. It had blue lettering.

Enjoy!

Reply to
Eric Reichenbach

Salut/Hi GG,

le/on Wed, 03 Mar 2004 21:55:06 -0500, tu disais/you said:-

Not really dehydrated, as others have said. Dehydration implies a permanernt loss of water, with eiswein, the grapes are partially frozen and the physical chemistry involved means that what freezes out is pure water, leaving a morte concentrated juice, this is pressed out while the grapes are still frozen.

It may be that you meant that, and that your use of "dehydrated" was a slightly careless use of the word. If that's so, then I apologise.

In passing, I was at a "prestigious sweet wine" tasting last year, at which we had a Canadian Ice wine (well reputed) I have to say that I found it flabby and one dimensional, when compared with the German ones I tasted later. It may be that I was unlucky.

Reply to
Ian Hoare

Thanks Dennis, for the correction on the Canadian icewine technique. As another poster has commented, the frezzing after picking may well be allowed in the US. Your posting is helpful to me - because now I know that the icewine I tried was produced in the same manner as the German. I'll probably enjoy it again at some time, but right now, finances don't permit frequent tries. Jim

Reply to
422Tango

Thanks, Vino - I will venture out from time to time. Starting a new career at present, money not as plentiful as it has been at times, so my experimentation is reduced, but not elimiated. Jim

Reply to
422Tango

Would also like to give a shout-out to the Austrian eisweins.

I've tasted them side by side with an Inniskillin and found them to be more interesting. For disclosure, i'll tell you that come June we'll be importing quite a few of them, but the reason is exactly because we found them to be superior. Matter of taste as always, of course. But that we're importing them is the good news: up to now they have been quite hard to find here in the states, and therefore quite prohibitively expensive.

Plus, the Austrian wines are made from some different grapes from the norm: think gruner veltliner eiswein, and samling 88 (AKA scheurebe) eiswein.

I don't want to come off as just plugging the vintners we're bringing over, so you should look around and see what is already available. And then i'll be happy to give anyone 10% off or so if they want to try ours when they get here!

In the end, it's all about enjoying the wine, right?

Reply to
winemonger

Jim:

If you are posting from the US, you should try buying them in our own Canadian dollars. Then it really hurts! ;-)

Legends Estates

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is a boutique family run winery on the Beamsville Bench, probably the best area for Niagara Pennisula wines. They have about 30 acres of vines. A 200 ml bottle of their Vidal Icewine goes for CAN $36 (at CAN $1.30 to US $1.00 that is about US $28).

Vidal Icewines from lesser rated wineries can run about CAN $20-$30 for

200 ml. A fuller sized 375 ml bottle from a better known winery or high quality vintage can run CAN $55-$75. Accordingly, Icewines are usually a special treat, usually only a two ounce or so serving with a classic dessert. Restaurants would typically charge CAN $7-$10 per serving.

Dennis, Windsor, Ontario

Reply to
Dennis Rekuta

OK - Vidal Icewine is the one I tried - the 375ml cost me $29.95 US plus Virginia's 4.5% sales tax, so it looks liike it gets shipped to Virginia, and still sold for less than at home. (I get the same things in Virginia - the Virginia wines typically sell for considerably more than the Austrailian of about the same quality - it would seem that shipment _should_ add enough to the cost, but it doesn't. I used it by itself as dessert (wife and I got 2 small glasses each from it), the classic dessert idea might well make a considerable difference. I've had some Rieslings that I really liked with a meal, but didn't like at all by themselves. Thanks, Jim

Reply to
BallroomDancer

A "flabby and one dimensional" Canadian ice wine was almost certainly a Vidal. If you get the opportunity to taste the Riesling or Gewurz versions I think you would change your mind on our most excellent Canadian product.

From the heart of the Niagara ice wine industry.......

Reply to
Chuck Reid

I'm really amazed at the differences in prices I've found for German Icewine, some well known producers wines are in the $100+ range while three icewines I just purchased (made by less well known producers) were less than $20 US each. I got one each of Reisling, Gewurz, and Pinot Noir; haven't tried them yet though.

Reply to
kenneth mccoy

Kenneth, I wish you the best, and hope you like them all, but eiswein is expensive to make, and the lower-priced ones have, in my experience, been total wastes of money (same for cheap BA and TBAs, though some Pfalz Huxelrebes have been been worth their pricetags, if not contenders with the best Rieslings). Spatburgunder eiswein isn't something I've seen, but will be interested in your notes. Who are the makers, and from which regions?

While I certainly don't think one needs to spend lots of money for fine wine, my general experience is the $30 Laboure-Roi GC burgs, $20 TBAs, $10 Barolos, and $4 Napa cabs seldom provide even a glimpse of what the excitement over that designation is about.

But I hope in this case I'm wrong! Dale

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