About Ice Wine

Many people have yet to hear of ice wine. Ice wine is a type of a dessert wine that is made from grapes that have been allowed to freeze while still growing on the vine. Although the grapes and the water will freeze on the vine the grapes sugars and other dissolved solids don’t.

With the water freezing and the others staying unfrozen it will allow for a grape that is more concentrated to be pressed out which will lead to smaller quantity but a much more concentrated and sweet tasting wine. Since the freezing is pre-fermentation it will keep the acidity which will allow for a balanced sweet and acidic tasting wine which is a very unusual but tasty blend.

Since it is a very labor intensive process along with some risky production that results in only small amounts of wine being produced you will find that the iced wines are generally quite expensive.

Production of Ice Wine

Ice wine is made in a lot of places; however, the most expensive but also the best ice wines are going to come from Canada. There are two reasons for this:

1. Canada contains the wine regions with the climates that are unique to the other places in the world where they make this type of wine. This allows for the Canadian iced wines to get the most quality production possible out of all of the countries making iced wine.
2. The Canadians take their wine very seriously. The production is actually legally regulated with the grapes that are used having weight limits so that the sucrose to water ratio is kept for only the best are used.
3. They can also only be picked when the temperature is only 17 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
4. Finally the grapes may only freeze naturally.

All of these factors allow for the most natural and best tasting production possible. While it is more expensive you’re definitely coming out ahead on the cost/benefit factor.

Characteristics

The Canadian iced wine is a very refreshing wine that will have anywhere from a medium to a full body of flavor. You’ll find the flavors are dictated by the grapes that are used; however, they are generally described as having some of the following tastes:

• Peach
• Pear
• Apricot
• Apples
• Honey
• Caramel

In terms of alcohol content it is generally a range of around 8-13%.

Concluding

Over the decades there have been a lot of changes and additions in the types of wines ranging from:

• Table wines
• Boxed wines
• Sparkling wines

Even with all of these changes the iced wine is beginning to increase in popularity as more and more people start to learn about it. It will continue to become a more powerful player within the wine industry and everyone will begin to learn more and more about the quality of this wine. When it comes to negative connotations of an iced wine, they are much undeserved.