Early ice wine harvest in Germany

On a starry night and temperatures as low as minus nine degrees, winegrowers in Rheinhessen, Franken, Sachsen, the Pfalz, the Hessische Bergstraße, Württemberg and the Mosel wine region, succeeded in harvesting the valuable frozen grapes. In addition to Riesling and Silvaner grapes, the new robust Souvignier Gris variety was also harvested.

Perfect frost conditions for Souvignier Gris, Riesling & Co

For example, Bergsträsser Winzer eG on the Hessische Bergstraße used the early and ideal frost conditions to harvest the coveted ice wine of the Souvignier Gris variety with a must weight of 180°Oechsle in the Heppenheimer Eckweg vineyard. By this, the Bergstrasse winegrowers could successfully harvest ice wine even twice this year.
The team at the Bischofsmühle winery in Nieder-Olm in Rheinhessen was also delighted to crop healthy frozen Souvignier Gris grapes. "For ice wine production, the grapes must be as healthy as possible", says Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute (DWI). The Souvignier Gris variety has a very thick berry skin and therefore remains healthy for a very long time. It is therefore being used more and more for making ice wine.
Thanks to the early onset of winter, Weinhaus Heymanns in the Pfalz was also able to harvest ice wine grapes in the Edenkobener Kirchberg vineyard. At icy temperatures of -8 °C, deep-frozen berries of the Pinot Noir variety with a must weight of 131° Oechsle were harvested.
The Blees Ferber winery on the Mosel region was also lucky enough to be able to produce ice wine twice within ten months: At -9.4° C, the winery team brought in frozen Riesling grapes with 160° Oechsle.
Frosty temperatures of -8.5 to -9°C enabled the Schloss Hallburg winery in Franken near Volkach to achieve a Silvaner ice wine harvest on the vinyard Hallburg Schlossberg with a remarkable must weight of 197° Oechsle.

Ice wine production does not succeed every year 

Making ice wine is always associated with a risk. The law imposes a minimum temperature of -7° at which the grapes must be placed in the wine press. In Rheinland-Pfalz, the wine control office checks the condition of the grapes and whether the legally prescribed minimum temperature of 120°  Oechsle has been reached.

Noble sweet speciality is in demand internationally

The secret of ice wine lies in the high concentration of ingredients in healthy grapes. In the frosty temperatures, the water in the berries freezes and remains in the wine press. The juice then drips from the press like honey. Musts with such a high sugar content can only be fermented into wine with great difficulty by the yeasts. Accordingly, ice wines generally have very high natural residual sugar levels of well over 100 grams per litre - with a comparatively low alcohol content of around 7 percent by volume. Thanks to the fresh fruit acidity, however, the sweetness is not overpowering. As a rare speciality, German ice wines enjoy great recognition worldwide.

Excellent vintage expected in 2025

The outstanding quality and impressive must weights suggest that the 2025 vintage will be an excellent ice wine that will delight connoisseurs and lovers of fine wines alike.