A number of persons have been asking me about Icewine recently and it so happens that a few great choices are being imported by a relatively new player in the wine business called Southwind Trading and Imports, which is operated by Wayne and Karen Gallimore. For now the main producer they carry is Konzelmann Estate Winery. Konzelmann Estate Winery is based in the Niagara region of Canada and it was established in 1984. They produce four Icewines from the grape varietals Vidal, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and from Shiraz.

IceWine is a type of wine only produced in the very cool wine-growing areas of Austria and Germany where it’s called Eiswein, and more recently made famous in Canada by Inniskillin, also located in the Niagara region.

History

While there is some indication that it might have been made in the Roman times, Icewine is a rare and exquisite product that had its ‘modern’ beginnings in Europe nearly two centuries ago. Germany was the first country to produce this wine, and as with most new ideas it occurred by accident. Peasant farmers in Franconia were hit by a sudden, unexpected frost in the winter of 1794. Instead of despairing of their frozen grapes, they followed their instinct for frugality and went ahead and made wine. The result was a small quantity of honey-sweet nectar with balancing acidity that was unlike anything they had ever produced. The wine – named Eiswein – was considered a treasure, but with the moderate German climate, perfect conditions for making this wine occurred only in very cold winters and so it remained, indeed, very rare.

How it’s made

Icewine (or Ice Wine as it’s spelt in some countries) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that are left on the vines well into the winter season. The ripe berries are dehydrated due to the constant freezing and thawing as a result of the winter conditions. This process concentrates the sugars, acids and other primary components of the grapes, intensifying the flavours and giving Icewine its tremendous complexity.

Expensive

The cost to produce Icewine is high, as the entire vineyard has to be covered by netting in order to protect the crops from the birds, and when they are ripe enough they have to be very carefully picked by hand in their frozen state at the ideal temperature of -10 to -13º C, which sometimes forces the picking to happen in the middle of the night. The frozen grapes are then pressed in the extreme cold and since the majority of the juice remains frozen, only a few drops of the very sweet juice is extracted from those grapes. The juice is then slowly fermented for the next few months. Icewine is usually sold in small bottles of 200 or 375 ml.

High Acidity

Apart from the intensely sweet nature of this wine, it also has high acidity due to the cool climate. This acidity distinguishes Icewine from other dessert wines as it forms a great balancing partner for the sugar, resulting in the unique and

fantastic wine.

Belcour Lodge tasting

A few of our usual wine-tasting and foodie faithful descended on the Gallimores in the cool Belcour Lodge environs where we were treated to a fine tasting of the wines of Konzelmann Estate. One of the favourites was the award-winning Vidal Icewine.

Last year the Konzelmann Vidal Icewine was selected as one of the top 100 world wines by the Wine Spectator magazine. Konzelmann is the first Canadian winery to be included in the magazine’s Top 100 list. Over 19,500 different wines from around the world were submitted for a blind tasting where Konzelmann received 94 points for its 2006 Vidal icewine. This golden nectar dessert wine manifests a luscious natural sweetness with distinct aromas of dried apricot and honey. Tropical fruit flavours intermix in the glass and combine with balanced acidity forming an enjoyable, lingering finish.

Food Pairing

Enjoy serving Vidal Icewine with fruit-based desserts that are less sweet than the wine itself. It pairs extremely well with a good piece of blue cheese, or sip as a dessert on its own.

Konzelmann produces are a wide range of other wines including the FNO night favourite Vidal Golden Vintage.

Cheers! Now go forth and try Icewine today.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant who operates DeVine Wine Services with his wife Kerri-Anne. Chris & Kerri are also part owners of Jamaica’s first and only wine-only bar – Bin 26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com . Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines