ice wine

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

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A Good Year For German Eiswein

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Fans of German eiswein will be in luck this year, the cold weather in Germany this December has made it a great harvest for the grapes left on the vine to be picked for eiswein. Decanter reports that on the icy mornings of December 18 and 19 in the Mosel and Rhein regions most of the grapes were picked, southern regions had to wait a few more days. In order to harvest grapes for eiswein temperatures have to dip way below freezing ((19°F) for at least three hours. The grapes are pressed while still frozen, resulting in a sweet elixir. The last couple of years have been rough for eiswein with a couple of mild winters, such as the one in 2006, making growers unwilling to risk waiting for a potential harvest.

[via Rockss and Fruit]

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Tags: eiswein, expire-images:2008-12-31, germany, ice wine, mosel, rhein

Last Fall's Cold Weather Leads To Ice Wine From Virginia

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Ice wine is usually associated with places much further north but AmRhein Wine Cellars in Virginia has taken advantage of a cold snap last fall to produce a pricey ice wine. Last November, the grapes at the AmRhein vineyards froze and so the winery harvested the grapes and used them to create the sweet desert wine. It takes more grapes and more fermentation time to create an ice wine than it does for a regular wine. The Vidal Blanc ice wine sells for $45 for a half bottle. There will be 56 cases of 12 bottles each.

It's an interesting reflection on the world's changing weather since around the time that AmRhein was enjoying their first ice wine harvest last year, wineries in more northern areas were contemplating a poor harvest.

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Tags: amrhein wine cellars, dessert wine, ice wine, IceWine, virginia

Ice Wine Harvests In Danger

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

If you are a fan of ice wine you may want to stock up now because it looks like there may be a shortage next year. I've been seeing a bunch of reports from various states and Canada about the ice wine harvest, or more precisely, the lack thereof. Ice wine makers need to harvest the grapes when they are frozen and that hasn't been happening because of the warm weather across the Northeast and Canada. Even if the weather turns icy and the harvest is saved there will be likely be less ice wine. The good news is that whatever grapes are harvested may yield a tastier wine. As often happens with winemaking, grapes left on the vine longer, or subjected to temperature stressors can sometimes yield richer and more complex wines. The diminished harvest may also lead to higher prices for the sweet golden elixir. All the more reason to buy now and stock up for what may well be a lean season.

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Tags: global warming, harvest, ice wine, IceWine

Neige Apple Ice Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

As you may know if you read this site often, I am a sucker for a good dessert wine. A few nights ago I sampled an apple ice wine. Neige,an apple ice wine from Quebec, might best be described as the soul of an apple reduced into a perfectly golden and sweet elixir. I ordered a glass and grudgingly let others have a sip and everyone sighed deeply with pleasure. The initial scent and taste is that it is like a concentrated cider, which makes sense since it takes around 15 pounds of apples to create one small bottle, but it reveals more nuances as it opens on the tongue. It has notes of vanilla and and a dose of gentle woodsy spice. I paired it with a pear and almond tart which was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and I have seen others recommend a creamy cheese like Brie. It actually might also be brilliant with a sharp Vermont cheddar. This ice wine sells for around $25.

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Tags: apple ice wine, dessert wine, ice wine, neige

Glen Breton Ice, The First Ice Wine Whisky

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

I've been hearing more and more about whiskies aged in a variety of wine or bourbon barrels resulting in new fruitier and more nuanced tastes. The Cape Breton-based Glenora Distillery has launched a new whisky called Glen Breton Ice which is the first single malt aged in an ice wine barrels. Glenora sold around 150 bottles at their distillery, the only only single malt whisky distillery in Canada, this summer. The company got the idea to age their whisky in an ice wine barrel by an Asian client (makes sense given the Asian love of ice wine). Glenora received their ice wine barrels from the Jost Winery, in Nova Scotia. Glen Breton Ice will be available in selected Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. stores for $49.95 for a 250 ml bottle but good luck finding it elsewhere.

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Tags: alcohol, canada, glen breton, GlenBreton, ice wine, spirits, whisky

The World's Most Expensive Ice Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Ice wine is always a little pricey. Those small bottles of sweet wine made from grapes picked once the weather is below freezing are traditionally made for sipping from tiny glasses rather than a healthy swig from more full-bowled stemware. You might want to use an eyedropper to partake of the world's most expensive ice wine. Decanter reports that the Royal DeMaria 2000 Chardonnay will sell for CAN$30,000 for a half bottle. Precious elixir indeed. There are just five cases (60 bottles) of the Chardonnay ice wine which is named for Billy Myers, a Niagara grape grower.

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Tags: expensive, ice wine, icewine, most expensive, MostExpensive, royal de maria, RoyalDeMaria, wine

Schonmarke Ice Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

If you've ever wanted to try ice wine but didn't feel like buying a whole bottle, Schonmarke Gold Icewine has created a 50ml mini that comes in a charming gold foil gift box. The $8 bottle of the wine made from frozen Vidal grapes in Niagara-On-The-Lake, is a smaller version of the already petite 350ml bottle which sells for around $50. I'm wondering if we are going to be seeing more and more wineries creating mini versions of their pricier versions in order to tempt first time tasters. This type of promotion naturally works well for liqueurs and whiskies and should be a good fit for ice wine since its sweetness often precludes multiple glasses (unless you are a sweet wine junkie like me of course).

[via The Moodie Report]

Tags: ice wine, IceWine, schonmarke, wine

Wine Storage Tips

by Gustad Mody (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Wine

LifeTips has a great section dedicated to the storage of wine. Pretty much every topic is touched upon from building your own wine rack to wine cellar cooling tips. Some quick and important storing tips to keep in mind: keep bottles on their sides, store where there is little temperature fluctuation, high humidity is important for long term storage, and pay attention to the age worthiness of your wine before they go past their prime. Keep in mind wine cellars are not just meant to only be pleasing to the eye, but they must be just as functional as they are attractive. The need for a vapor barrier is commonly ignored when your designer doesn’t have the necessary knowledge of wine.

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