The bunches must also be attached to the vine until they are harvested. The sugar level of the grapes at the time of harvest must reach a reading of at least 35 Brix (one degree Brix is equal to 1 gram of grape sugar) otherwise they can only be designated as Special Select Late Harvest or Select Late Harvest wines. Since the juice is rich in sugar, the temperature has to drop well below freezing and stay there long enough for the bunches to be harvested and pressed while still in their frozen state.Īccording to Canadian wine law, grapes designated for icewine cannot be picked until the mercury drops to at least -8☌ (17° Fahrenheit), although colder temperatures make for a better quality product. In Canada, this usually occurs around Christmastime or by early January. Unlike the grapes for dry table wines that are harvested in September or October, icewine grapes are left to hang on the vine until they freeze as hard as marbles. Canadian icewine appears on the wine lists of the world’s top restaurants, and you can now buy it in India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, New York City, London, Rome and Paris. Whenever Canadian icewine is entered in international competitions, it walks off with medals.
In our own time the Canadian version has become a global celebrity, an iconic product that is as Canadian as the Mounties, Wayne Gretzky and maple syrup.
Since then German producers have made eiswein whenever the weather permits. Peasant farmers, not wanting to lose their grapes, pressed them anyway and were delighted with the resulting sweet wine. Icewine (or eiswein as the Germans call it) was “discovered” in 1794 in Franconia when a freak frost froze the grapes. Canada didn’t invent icewine but in the space of a couple of decades it has become the Canadian product that is most sought after by the international wine community.
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