About icewine
Icewine is a sweet, premium wine that is harvested in cold regions and made using a special method. The grapes used to make this wine are frozen at very low temperatures to concentrate their sugar content, so they are harvested later than the normal harvest time. Icewine production is demanding and requires cold temperatures.
Grapes commonly used for icewine include Vidal Blanc, Riesling, and Kerner, among others. These varieties are resistant to freezing and have the characteristic that the fruit structure does not collapse even when frozen. Vidal Blanc is widely used in ice wines, especially in Canada.
In the icewine production process, grapes are harvested while frozen and then pressed while still frozen. Because it is frozen, the ice is removed from the juice and the concentrated juice that remains is very sweet. This forms the basis of icewine's unique flavor and sweetness. The amount of juice that can be extracted from one bunch of grapes is as small as one spoonful.
Icewine is considered a relatively expensive type of wine due to its high quality and labor-intensive production process.