Cold snap enables early ice wine harvest in Germany

On a starry night with temperatures of minus eight degrees Celsius, winegrowers in the following regions managed to harvest the precious frozen grapes: Sachsen, Franken, Hessische Bergstraße, Pfalz and Mosel, among others,

“For ice wine, the grapes must be as healthy as possible,” says Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute (DWI). The robust Souvignier Gris variety has a very thick skin and therefore remains healthy for a very long time." It is therefore being used more and more often for ice wine production.

Ice wine production is not successful every year.

“Ice wine production always involves a risk,” said Büscher. The minimum temperature requirement is minus seven degrees Celsius. And it has to remain at that temperature for some time, because the must must also be pressed at these temperatures. Whether the legally prescribed minimum of 120 degrees Oechsle is actually reached is checked afterwards by the wine inspection authorities, at least in the State of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.

A noble sweet specialty in international demand

The secret of ice wine lies in the high concentration of nutrients in healthy grapes. At freezing temperatures, the water in the berries freezes and remains in the wine press. The juice then drips from the press, sweet as honey. Musts with such high sugar content are very difficult for yeasts to ferment into wine. Accordingly, ice wines usually have very high natural residual sugar contents of well over 100 grams per liter—with a comparatively low alcohol content of around 7 percent by volume. However, thanks to the fresh fruit acidity, the sweetness is not overpowering. As a rare specialty, German ice wines enjoy great recognition worldwide.