Ice Wine Research Paper Essay

Wine is known to be an extremely versatile and malleable food source. It has the ability to please both the palette as well as the intellect. There are countless varietals of wine, including the ever exotic Eiswein, or as it is more commonly known as Ice Wine. The production of Ice Wine requires very specific parameters. So much so that it cannot be produced in most countries. Only some of the coldest climates can yield Ice Wine. Two of which are Canada and Germany. These two produce about 75 percent of the entire world’s Ice Wine. (What is the history of Ice Wine wine). Ice Wine has a long history. The first mentioning of Ice Wine can date back to the Roman times. These reports have stated that there were certain grapes that could not be harvested before the frost has taken hold of them. Many believe the first post-Roman Ice Wine was created in Franconia, Germany in 1794. Although much of these reports are tentative, seeing as a lot of the documentation has been lost to time. The most accurate depiction of the history of Ice Wine would be from Dromersheim to Bingen in Rheinhessen on February 11, 1830. (What is the History of Ice Wine wine?) The grapes were left hanging on vines for use as animal feed. Upon the arrival of the frost it was discovered that these grapes yielded a very sweet must. Must or young wine is freshly pressed essence of fruit that contains skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. Must is an essential part of the preliminary steps in winemaking. Once this must was pressed some of the first documented Ice Wines were produced. Once the invention of the pneumatic bladder occurred Germany Ice Wines grew in popularity. They were eventually being produced on a semi-mass production level in 1961. Karl Kaiser a co-owner of the winery known as Inniskillin was seeking to create his own Canadian version of the Ice Wine. He along with fellow neighbor Ewald Reif left grapes on their vines in an attempt to produce the highly sought after treat. The result was a tragic loss of the entire harvest of grapes. In 1984 Kaiser decided to use a new tactic for cultivating the frosty grapes. He draped a net over his vines and produced Inniskillin’s first Ice wine. Being made from Vidal grapes this wine was labeled Eiswein. This kick started the production of Eiswein from a commercial standpoint. It increasingly grew in popularity among the locals of Canada. Pretty soon everyone was attempting their hand at production of it. †International breakthrough of Canadian ice wine came in 1991, when Inniskillin’s 1989 Vidal ice wine won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo. The Canadian trend towards increased cultivation of Vitis Vinifera grape varieties in the 1990s expanded the palette of varieties available to be bitten by frost. † (What is the History of Wine Making? ) The official snag of first place was taken by Canada in the early 2000s. The production of Eiswein in Germany had started to rapidly slow down, thus allowing Canada to take the spot for the number one producer of Ice Wine in the Entire world. The production of Ice wine demands a variety of variables. One of which is the climate. In order for it to be properly produced the climate must be perfect for the specifications the grapes require. It cannot be frigid cold, but it cannot be too hot either. It needs to be cold enough to keep a frost, but still warm enough that the grapes are not rotted from the cold. â€Å"Officially, ice-wine grapes can only be harvested when frozen solid. Ontario’s Vintners Quality Alliance says it has to be -8  °C or below, while the world’s official wine body, the International Office of Vine and Wine (OIV), stipulates -7  °C or below. Both are adamant that grapes have to be frozen naturally, out of doors and on the vine. † (â€Å"Extreme winemaking† 54). This causes for some unusual picking conditions. Many times the grapes have to be harvested at night, and pressed in an area that has little heat whatsoever. Most winemakers obsessively watch the weather, waiting for that special moment where the temperature plummets to -9  °C and remains there. Once this has happened they must act quickly to salvage the grapes. Since the grapes are frozen it generally requires much more of them to produce a sufficient amount of Ice wine in comparison to how many it takes for regular wine to be produced. It is imperative that the temperature is low, it is crucial to the sweetness of the wine. As the temperature of the grape decreases the sugar content rises. By regulation, ice-wine grapes must have a minimum sugar content of 35 ° Brix — that’s 35 grams of sugar in every 100 grams of grape juice. A table-wine grape, by contrast, might rate at only 20 ° Brix. At -8 â€Å"C, the grapes will usually be sweet enough. Below -13  °C you can’t get any juice out of them at all (â€Å"Extreme winemaking† 55). Many vineyards process their Ice Wine harvest differently. Some will just haul the pressed grapes outdoors, while others will open the doors to their pressing plant and let the cold air keep the grapes chilled. Timing is another crucial factor; the grapes have to be pressed on the spot. This ensures the juice is thick and sweet. â€Å"It takes much higher pressure — about 6 bar as compared to the normal 1. 5 to 2 — to crush frozen grapes â€Å" (â€Å"Extreme winemaking† 55). Since the grapes yield such a high sugar level it makes it difficult to properly ferment the yeast. So whereas a table wine takes roughly a week to ferment, ice wine takes from two to six months (â€Å"Extreme winemaking, 55). Ice wine can be achieved in two ways. The first is the result of naturally freezing and crushing the grapes. The other is using the method of artificial freezing known as cryoextraction (Diwinetaste). In Canada cryoextraction is forbidden by law to be used. However, in the USA, in order to produce Ice wines this is the method that is most desirable. Due to the restrictions of the climate, Ice wine is notable for its intense variation of flavors compared to normally processed wine. It tends to be extremely sweet and presents an apricot to peach fruitiness when it comes to the aroma. Many would classify Ice Wine as liquefied gold, the tedious circumstances that are required to make Ice wine attribute to the overall price of the product. Half a bottle is generally $40. Ice wine has quite an extensive history. Canada started out being the second best producer of this highly sought after commodity. Shortly they surpassed Germany, and to this day still produce the extremely versatile, but challenging wine. Its requirement for specific temperatures keeps it a pleasant, but rare treat. What with its pleasant mouth feel, to the richness of its fruity undergo, it is highly speculated that this wine will most likely never be surpassed in its complexity and originality.