Wines & Vines

February 2016 Barrel Issue

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76 WINES&VINES February 2016 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS WINE EAST The Two Faces of Ice Wine Production Frozen on the vine or in a commercial freezer, both styles are difficult to ferment and clarify By Ray Pompilio KEY POINTS Ice wine is an intensely flavored dessert wine made from grapes left on the vines until they freeze to about 15° F. But winemakers create "iced wine" using cryoextraction to freeze the grapes. The article explores winemaking methods for both wine types in the Finger Lakes of New York. In each case the frozen grapes yield high- sugar, high-acid juice that is dif- ficult to ferment and clarify. The two types differ in flavors and in price. Ice wine is more complex in flavor, as the extended hang time and numerous temperature changes break down the grapes in a way that a freezer doesn't. Ice wine can sell for as much as $100 per 375ml bottle. T he Finger Lakes is New York's largest winemaking region, and it is best known for its high-quality Rieslings— from bone-dry to lusciously sweet. Among the latter are a small (but growing) selection of ice wines made from grapes frozen on their vines, often sold at eye-opening prices. Ice wine was originally known as Eis- wein, a German wine produced early in the 19th century, and 150 years later was popularized in Canada, currently the world's largest producer of such wine. The first commercially produced Canadian ice wines were made in 1983 by Pelee Island and Hillebrand wineries, in Ontario. Two years earlier, however, a Finger Lakes win- ery, Great Western Vineyards, released an ice wine made from the hybrid grape Vidal Blanc. Vidal Blanc is still a popular choice for ice wine in eastern North America, along with vinifera cultivars Riesling and Cabernet Franc. Currently, there are two different ways to produce these intense dessert wines— the natural method of harvesting frozen grapes off the vines, and the manipulated method of cryoextraction, where grapes are picked at their normal harvest times and then frozen for use in what is more specifically known as "iced wines." Al- though the production techniques are simi- lar regardless of the cultivar and origin of the freeze, the resulting wines can be dra- matically different. Both the taste and the price of the wines are determined by the freezing technique used on the grapes. All are bottled in 375ml bottles, and their prices range from $20 to $100 per bottle. In order to sort out the particulars of making these wines, I spoke with three experienced Finger Lakes winemakers: Steve DiFrancesco, who makes wine at both Glenora Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake and Knapp Winery on Cayuga Lake; Sayre Fulkerson, owner of Fulkerson Winery (Seneca Lake); and Dave Breeden of Shel- drake Point Winery (Cayuga Lake). All three have made ice wines when weather conditions allowed, and they also have The Sheldrake Point harvest crew picks grapes for ice wine.

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