A New Direction for Dessert

By Monty and Sara Preiser

Many of us have enjoyed late harvest wine, made sweet when its grapes were allowed to ripen and increase in sugar for so long that they shriveled and, frequently, were affected by the noble rot botrytis. In this age of something different, we recommend you try something new – ice wine. As the name suggests, this libation is made from grapes which have frozen on the vine. As opposed to many late harvest wines world wide (such as Sauterne), grapes used for ice wines are usually healthy at their time of harvest, which many believe gives the fruit finer clarity and a more pronounced, vibrant taste.

Grapes are mostly comprised of water, which is of course what freezes in this process. When a frozen grape is pressed, only the sweet juice is released while the water remains trapped in the skin in the form of ice crystals. As most of the grape itself is left behind, this means a great many grapes must be used for a relatively small amount of liquid (often an entire vine only makes a single 375 ml. bottle).

Once the juice is finally pressed from the grapes, the wine-to-be typically undergoes weeks of fermentation, followed by a few months of barrel aging. What results is a thick liquid of beautiful golden to deep amber colors. Ice wine is properly consumed chilled in small dessert wine glasses, and many describe tastes of melon, apricot, mangos, peaches, and/or other sweet fruits. In all of the ice wine making world, Riesling is a grape of choice. Vidal is also a staple in Canada and the northern U.S., while certain Europeans employ Blaufrankisch, Gruner Veltliner, Scheurebe, and Traminer.

In some countries, various producers have found a way to make what they refer to as an ice wine simply by putting grapes into a freezer. Can one distinguish an ice wine born in the freezer from one that matured in the vineyards? Perhaps many professionals can, but it is not easy for amateurs. After all, the process is the same and the water freezes in either location. Nevertheless, simulated ice wines do not command the price of the real thing, and when tasted together, wines from the vineyards seem to stand out more often.

Perhaps the best ice wine we know is made by arguably the finest ice wine producer in the world – the Canadian company Inniskillin. Brilliant in its cranberry hue and lush flavors of raspberry and blackberry, the unique Cabernet Franc ($100 for 375 ml) combines the beauty of that grape with a medium to full body, and a finish that kills. But we can also recommend a less expensive alternative that will do the job - an American beauty for $35/half bottle from Casa Larga in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Their 2005 Fiori Delle Steele Vidal is deep gold and spins out honey and orange blossoms reminiscent of nectar.