A wine treasure,‘Ice Wine’ is made from grapes that have been left to freeze naturally on the wine. PEAKLIFE takes you through this exotic experience.
There is something about wine that captures our attention. It could be the aromas, the texture on your palate, or just the moment frozen in time that leaves you wanting to repeat that experience. With time, your horizons widen and you want to try new wines. Hence, to satiate your curiosity we have brought up something which is one of the wine treasures of the world.
Iced wine is an ultra-rich, super sweet dessert wine made from the intense liquid of naturally frozen grapes. It is a luscious wine boasting rich aromas and flavours of ripe tropical fruits
Ice-wine? So, the wine that’s been frozen?
Ice wine is the wine that is made from grapes that have been allowed to literally freeze on the vine, significantly concentrating the grape’s sugars and intensifying the flavour profile.These frozen grapes are then pressed, squeezing out the drops of juice before running through the fermentation process.Many people mistakenly, confuse the process of vinification for ice wine with botrytis. Since long months of cold weather are essential for this process, wine regions in Canada, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are the most notable producers.
The Legend of Ice wine
Ice wine was discovered by a German winemaker who was away from his vineyard during the harvest, and when he returned all of his grapes had been frozen on the vine.
Undeterred he carried out the harvest as usual and proceeded to press his frozen grapes for fermentation.
So, how to drink it?
Much like white wine, ice wine should arrive at the table chilled but not too cold. It’s best served in a white wine glass, which allows the wine to breathe and reveal its flavour bouquet without overwhelming the small serving size of just 2 ounces.Being a super sweet wine, its best paired with foods that have high-fat content.Rich cheeses are a popular companion, along with cured pork sausages and salty roast beef.
Styles and flavours of Iced wine
Most ice wines are made in a medium to full-bodied style. The most common aromas tend towards the stone fruits, with apricot and peach being the top components of aromatic character in the ice wine. Red wines tend towards strawberry and candied fruit profiles with sweet spicy aromas woven into the mix.
Alcohol level in Ice wine
Like many dessert wines, alcohol levels in Ice wine tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum. Average levels of alcohol range from 7-12%.
Aging Ice wine
Wines with high sugar content and a high acidity are likely to age easily for 30-50 years.Of course, long terms aging of Ice wine will change their taste profile slowly; over time aged wines become darker in colour, sweeter tasting, and gain tertiary aging flavours of molasses, maple, and hazelnut.
If a sweeter fortified wine is desired, here’s something very different to uncork this time, a bottle of Ice wine.
