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Ice wine (also spelled icewine or Eiswein, in German) is a dessert wine produced from grapes that were frozen while still on the vine. Only the water freezes in these grapes, so the small amount that is pressed from the grapes is highly concentrated and very sweet. Since the grapes are harvested while still frozen, unlike other... more »
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Wine is as diverse as the people who drink it and the foods they eat. As such, it can serve many purposes. Some wines are good on their own, but most need a food pairing to bring out their best qualities. A real connoisseur will serve a different wine with each course of a meal, but this usually isn't practical for most folks.... more »
The French Kiss is a bit of an odd drink, but it's still an interesting little cocktail to have in one's repertoire. Basically nothing more than two kinds of vermouth and a simple garnish, the French Kiss is an elegant cocktail that anyone with a decently-stocked bar can make. more »
One type of wine that is commonly overlooked is the dessert wine. Often considered too sweet to drink, its potential is generally never recognized. One dessert wine, however, that has a natural curb to its sweetness is ice wine. Ice wine has been the noble staple of countries such as Austria, Germany and Canada for years. more »
Making ice wine can be a challenge for even the seasoned wine maker. Though making ice wine is not an exact science, it does take timing. It is... more »
Ice wine is very different from its more common counterpart, table wine. Ice wine takes a little more understanding regarding the making process... more »
Ice wine vinegar--a thick, sweet-sour vinegar--is taking the culinary world by storm. Chefs in the know use it to drizzle on shellfish or thicken... more »
Ice wine is a dessert wine. The grapes used to produce ice wine have been frozen while still on the vine. The most expensive and notable ice wines... more »
Ice wine (or icewine, as one word, or in German, Eiswein) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape must to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine. With ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. Unlike the grapes from which other dessert wines, such as Sauternes, Tokaji, or Trockenbeerenauslese, are made, ice wine grapes should not be affected by Botrytis cinerea or noble rot, at least not to any great degree. Only healthy grapes keep in good shape until the opportunity arises for an ice wine harvest, which in extreme cases can occur after the New Year, on a northern hemisphere calendar. This gives ice wine its characteristic refreshing sweetness balanced by high acidity. When the grapes are free of Botrytis, they are said to come in "clean".
Due to the labour-intense and risky production process resulting in relatively small amounts of wine, ice wines are generally quite expensive.
History
There are indications that frozen grapes were used to make wine already in Roman times."WP Eiswein">, accessed on July 6, 2008 Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - 79) wrote about certain grape varieties that they were not harvested before frost has occurred. The poet Martial (AD 40 - 102) recommended that grapes should be left on the vine until November or until they were stiff with frost., accessed on July 6, 2008 Details as to the winemaking and description of these wines are unknown. It can not be completely ruled out that the descriptions refer to dried grape wines, a common style of wine in Roman times, where the raisin-like grapes were harvested late enough for the first frost to have fallen. In either case, the method seems later to have been forgotten.
It is believed that the first post-Roman ice wine was m read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice+wine
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