Hainle Vineyards

Canadian Ice Wine: Luxury Pour That Commands Prices Greater Than Champagne

Filed under: Wine

When people think of Canada they often think thoughts of the tundra. Maybe that's why Ice Wine has become Canada's distinctive contribution to the world of wine.

According to the Wine Economist Journal, not Champagne, not Bordeaux, and not Port, but Canadian Ice Wine commands the second highest average per bottle price in wine exports (behind Swiss wines).

Many a wine buyer confronted with Ice Wines at the wine store, or the wine section of Whole Foods, puzzles over why the skinny bottles typical of Ice Wine cost so much.

Although it is a European creation, Canada is today's world's largest producer of Ice Wine and its half bottles (375ml) are priced overseas from $50 to $500 each, especially in that latest luxury market: Asia.

Asian tourists leaving North America for home almost raid the Ice Wine shelves in airport duty-free shops. In fact, according to the Wine Economist, some duty-free shops have established bonded facilities in Japan to make access to Ice Wine convenient: you pay at the Canadian airport and you pick up your wine in Japan.

Sadly, it's believed that nearly 50 percent of the Ice Wine sold in Taiwan is a counterfeit. According to Canada's Vineland Estates, Allan Schmidt, the counterfeiting is worse in China. He has pulled his winery exports from that market.

Still, the Chinese market for Canadian Ice Wine stands between $1 and $2 million annually.

Tags: Canadian Ice Wine, Hainle Vineyards, Ice Wine, Inniskillin, Peller Estates