The quantity of wines that the current market offers is huge: strong ones, softer ones, white ones, red ones…Even though, there is a type of wine that is no so known and demanded, but it has its own target, indeed. We are talking about ice wine.
It can sound strange or weird to hear that combination. Mixing wine with ice?
Like this, you get watered wine, right? It is true, but we are not talking about mixing wine with ice, but about producing it with ice.
Ice wine can’t be understood as a kind of dessert; otherwise, it can be seen as a type of wine. This kind of wine has its origins in Germany, discovered almost by chance in XVIII century, which contains high sugar content.
History of ice wine
In Germany, around the end of that mentioned century, cold season brought forward, which meant that farmers couldn’t allow the grape to ripen. This froze, and the farmers, before throwing away the harvest, they decided to harvest the frozen crop, without getting the right level of ripening. Once, it was done, workers were very surprised with the result obtain after pressing the grapes, discovering a totally new taste: sweet, tasty and aromatic.
Once that elaboration was known around the world, others decided to try producing it. The first one elaborating this kind of wine was the French kingdom, which did considerate it unique, and decided to elaborate little quantity of it, and reserve it for special occasions.
Further on, other countries in the north of Europe, as Austria, Croatia and Switzerland, decided to copy the process and elaborate wine in huge quantities.
The risk of losing the harvest is important
Elaborating ice wine is a risky option, because it depends exclusively on weather conditions. During the last months of the year, humidity and precipitations increase, so the risk that the harvest gets affected by a type of fungus is high.
Usually, harvest season takes place during the last days of September or the beginning of October, but if what you want is obtaining ice-wine’s specific taste, it is probable that farmers delay their work.
Conditions for wine to be considered ice wine
Not every single wine can be considered ice wine. For that, a wine has to meet some specific conditions:
- Grapes must be frozen in the stock.
- In the moment of pressing the grapes, or harvesting, those processes require cold temperatures, which can’t exceed 8 centigrade degrees.
- Artificial freezing of grapes is forbidden.
- In the pressing moment, one part of the must should solidify, getting then, huge quantities of sugar and compounds.
At a national level, elaborating this wine is not an easy task, because it is necessary certain specific weather conditions. Due to that, it is only possible to produce it in specific regions as Castilla and León, Catalonia, Aragón and La Rioja.
At an international level, Germany and Canada lead the elaboration of ice wine. Canada, thanks to its extreme temperatures and its current weather conditions, and, Germany, due to its climate and history.
Did you know ice wine? Did you know its history? From now on, you won’t be surprised when people talk about it.