Ice Wine

[idiggy]

Just finished bottling some Ice wine.
For my first time making it . It came out pretty good

Used a gallon of Vidal Ice grape juice .
Next yr will try the Cab Franc Ice juice .

Cheers

 

[winemaker81]

Pretty color! What is the residual sugar?

 

[idiggy]

It ended up being about 16 %

 

[tullamore]

i made some couple years back from Niagara on the Lake - ontario Canada
Vidal , Riesling and cab franc - Niagara gold - very very good

 

[idiggy]

Yes that's where I got it in Niagara on the lake .
It's called Watson's winery
I also tried some of their Merlot, Cab Franc juice and Gewürztraminer

 

[Ohio Bob]

So you made it from fresh juice, or juice from frozen/half-frozen grapes? Please describe your process, this sounds intriguing.

 

[tullamore]

Yes that's where I got it in Niagara on the lake .
It's called Watson's winery
I also tried some of their Merlot, Cab Franc juice and Gewürztraminer

yes i'm very fimilar with Watsons i buy from them - great cab franc - i buy my barrels from them
the pinot gris and their reisling is good - been doing their gervertz form many years - perfect climate

 

[idiggy]

It's made from fresh juice .
Fermented like reg wine really .

 

[tullamore]

for u ohio Bob

Icewine
Canada’s famous sweet wine
History
The first Icewine (EisweIn) is believed to have been made in Germany in the late 1700s when freezing weather struck before the grape crop could be harvested. The winemaker persisted, harvesting and pressing the frozen grapes and fermenting the juice to a sweet wine. Germany and Austria continue to produce Eiswein but their moderate European winters do not always provide the cold weather needed to freeze the grapes.
German immigrants to Canada carried on the tradition of Eiswein in their new country, with Icewine being made in British Columbia and Ontario beginning in the 1970s. With almost ideal climate conditions for the reliable production of Icewine – warm summers to ripen the grapes and cold but not too cold winters – Ontario is now a leading Icewine producer and has earned global acclaim for its Icewines.
Icewine is a unique sweet wine made from grapes that have been left to freeze naturally on the vine. Pressed while still frozen, the grapes yield a sweet concentrated juice that is highly flavourful.
How Icewine is Made
In preparation for Icewine season, the grape vines are netted in the autumn when the grapes are ripening to protect them from being devoured by birds. In November, the grapes must be registered with VQA Ontario inspectors and the grape variety, acreage and estimated tonnage is verified. The grapes are then left on the vine until a sustained temperature of minus 8 degrees Celsius or lower is reached. Depending on the season, this could happen anytime from December to February. During the time between the end of the growing season and harvest, the grapes dehydrate and the juices are concentrated and develop the characteristic complexity of Icewine.
During Icewine season, wineries and grape growers keep a careful watch on the weather forecast looking for an optimum stretch of temperatures between -10 and -12 °C. This temperature range will produce juice in the range of 35 to 39 ° Brix (roughly equivalent to the percent sugar in the juice). Typically, a period of at least 6 hours is needed to harvest and press the grapes – and it is usually an overnight job. Most small and medium sized wineries harvest by hand, often with volunteers who are enthusiastic Icewine lovers and want to experience the harvest first hand. Warm clothing is required. Mechanized harvesting has been developed very recently and is now an option for larger vineyards.
Once the grapes are harvested, they are pressed in small hydraulic presses under much higher pressure than normal for grapes harvested in the regular season. Because the grapes are frozen, most of the mass is water, and is left behind as ice in the press. Only a small amount of concentrated juice is extracted. Juice yields for Icewine grapes are much lower than for table wines – with average yields of 500 litres for each acre netted, or approximately 15% of the expected yield for grapes harvested for table wines. This reflects both the losses in grape volume from dehydration while the grapes hang and losses to hungry birds and other animals.
Icewine juice is very sweet and can be difficult to ferment. High sugars can create a hostile environment for the yeast and fermentation stops early, leaving relatively low alcohol and high sugar levels in the finished wine.
Wine character and style
Icewines exhibit rich aromas and flavours of ripe tropical fruits such as lychee, papaya and pinapple. They are sweet but have a firm backbone of acidity that makes them perfectly balanced, not cloying on the palate. Icewines are often enjoyed with desserts or on their own for dessert but also make a perfect complement for rich savoury foods such as foie gras or aged blue cheeses. Icewine is also used as a “dosage” for Sparkling Wine and as a flavourful addition to cocktails.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Icewine must be made from vitis vinifera grape varieties (traditional in European and international wine regions) or the hybrid variety Vidal Blanc. The most popular varieties used for Ontario lcewine are:

• Vidal Blanc
• Riesling
• Cabernet Franc

Other varieties that are emerging are Gewurztraminer and Cabernet Sauvignon and many others are used on a small lot basis.

 

[BigDaveK]

I enjoy a good ice wine now and then.
I'm trying to get my head around this. I'm not rich like you guys and source most ingredients from the yard. I know I'd have raisins or stones before the cold weather arrived. So, dehydrate a bit, freeze, crush and press while frozen. Is that basically it? Of course that leads to another question - can it be done with other fruit? (That's just swell - another experiment.)

 

[VinesnBines]

A Virginia winery makes Ice Wine and since they often don't get temperatures for the sustained periods needed, they take their Vidal to a commercial freezer. So yes, you can dehydrate a little and then freeze. I'm not sure of the winery's procedure. It may work with other berries. Give it a try. I know I tasted some Vidal and Chambourcin grapes that froze in my vineyard. Marvelous!

 

[tullamore]

I enjoy a good ice wine now and then.
I'm trying to get my head around this. I'm not rich like you guys and source most ingredients from the yard. I know I'd have raisins or stones before the cold weather arrived. So, dehydrate a bit, freeze, crush and press while frozen. Is that basically it? Of course that leads to another question - can it be done with other fruit? (That's just swell - another experiment.)

me to i like a glass once in a while
ice wine was a craz back in the late 1990's - midd 2000's - up to 50-$60 a bottle plus( cnd funds) yes basically freeze and crush, etc... as for other berries/fruit i have no idea i never ventured out of the might vitas vinifera

 

[hawkwing]

Does the freezing just remove water and thus give a more concentrated juice?

 

[BigDaveK]

Does the freezing just remove water and thus give a more concentrated juice?

Not exactly.
It separates it but doesn't "remove" it. The water is still there.
As I understand it, cell walls break down, the water actually freezes into visible ice. The frozen grapes are crushed and hopefully most of the frozen water remains in the crushing/pressing device. And then, yes, a more concentrated juice.
I've seen that separation in some of the fruit I've frozen. Almost looks like I added water before freezing.

 

[ChuckD]

Not exactly.
It separates it but doesn't "remove" it. The water is still there.
As I understand it, cell walls break down, the water actually freezes into visible ice. The frozen grapes are crushed and hopefully most of the frozen water remains in the crushing/pressing device. And then, yes, a more concentrated juice.
I've seen that separation in some of the fruit I've frozen. Almost looks like I added water before freezing.

Wouldn’t reverse osmosis do the same thing? I know a man who made his own for maple syrup production. You can remove about half the water with RO then boil it to finish.

 

[Gene Kimmi]

Maybe a dumb question, but I’ve been using Coloma frozen’s concentrates, cab sauv, Zinfandel and merlot so far. These come at 68 brix. Would reconstituting these to a 35-36 brix produce something similar to ice wine?

 

[winemaker81]

Maybe a dumb question, but I’ve been using Coloma frozen’s concentrates, cab sauv, Zinfandel and merlot so far. These come at 68 brix. Would reconstituting these to a 35-36 brix produce something similar to ice wine?

That's actually an excellent question.

A true ice wine is a different creature, as the grapes are both overripe (hung on the vine really long) and partially frozen that reduces water content. IMO there's no way to truly duplicate that.

However, reconstituting to 32 to 36 brix will produce a strong wine that is sweet, which will balance the high acid. I'd not use EC-1118, probably using a yeast that tolerates 14-15 ABV.

 

[BigDaveK]

Wouldn’t reverse osmosis do the same thing? I know a man who made his own for maple syrup production. You can remove about half the water with RO then boil it to finish.

Really? That's interesting. Isn't sap to syrup something like 50:1? Sounds like technology would indeed mimic the traditional process. Hmm..