From start to finish, the process of making ice wine is as intense as the wine that is produced—a rare and seriously sweet dessert wine. In fact, it’s dubbed ice wine because the grapes are harvested in the winter (typically when the temperatures dip at least to 8 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressed while still frozen. “As the fruit is hanging on the vines, it’s getting sweeter and sweeter,” explains Greg Tresner, master sommelier for Mary Elaine’s at The Phoenician. “What the freezing does is it dehydrates the grape and it concentrates the fruits, sugars and the acidity. When the grapes freeze, the water is frozen but the juice hasn’t frozen yet. So [the winemakers are] able to pick the grapes; crush them; separate the skin, seeds and ice crystals; and have this incredibly rich juice [that] they ferment for several months,” Tresner says.   

 

Since the grapes require such cold temperatures to freeze, the harvest is ordinarily accomplished before dusk during the coldest part of the night; and Canada, Germany and Austria are the leading producers of the vino (thanks to their cold climates, of course). Left longer than a few days, the grapes are susceptible to pests or temperature changes that could ruin the entire plot of frozen grapes. “If [the grapes] thaw, they can’t call it ice wine; by law they have to declassify it—they have to call it something else,” Tresner explains. 

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