SUB-ZERO WINE BLOG

Talk about a labor of love! Ice wines are made by leaving the grapes on the vine long after the growing season ends, to be harvested by hand in the wee hours of the night after the grapes have frozen solid. Pressing the grapes while frozen leaves most of their water content in the press as ice pellets, with only the richest, sweetest nectar-like juice oozing into the fermentation tank. The result is a succulent, honey-rich, fragrant wine that has to be tasted to be believed. Look for ice wines from Canada such as Jackson-Triggs or Inniskillin. The original home of ice wine, Germany, is also a source, but rarity makes the wines pretty pricey. There is another category of more affordable ice wines made by simply freezing the grapes in the freezer, rather than waiting for mother nature to do her thing naturally in the vineyard. These are fun, too, though not quite the same as the naturally-frozen ones. One of the most widely available is also one of the most tasty: Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glaciere (“glacier wine”). (As you sip, raise a toast to the ice wine harvesters, perhaps toughing it out in sub-zero temperatures as we speak!)