How to Buy Eiswein Dessert Wine
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How to Buy Eiswein Dessert Wine Eiswein is a sweet dessert wine that originated in Germany. This "late harvest" wine is traditionally pressed from grapes that are harvested after they freeze on the vine. "Eiswein" literally means "ice wine," and is called so on some labels. If you want to buy eiswein, know the country and the method that produced the bottle to find the best available "ice wine" for your budget. Does this Spark an idea? Instructions 1. o 1 Locate a local wine store or look on line for wine sellers who carry eiswein. o 2 Look for a bottle that fits your price range. German and Austrian Eisweins, which follow established methods of harvest and production, are the European gold standard. However, many less expensive, but still excellent, ice wines come from Austria, New Zealand, Slovenia, Canada and the United States. Not all producers let grapes freeze naturally before harvesting them at night. This time-honored and labor-intensive method of production, as well as the loss of all but a few drops of juice, explains the higher price of traditionally produced ice wine. Some vintners pick the grapes and then artificially freeze them before pressing. Manage Cellar, Share Tasting Notes Free, powerful, and easy to use! o 3 Pick a colorful and fragrant bouquet. Eiswein is distinguished by the contrast between its fragrant sweetness and acidity. A great eiswein is both rich and fresh. Young eisweins have tropical fruit, peach or berry overtones. Older eisweins suggest caramel or honey. Colors can range from white to rose. o 4 Chill eiswein before serving, but do not let it get too cold. o 5 Enjoy eiswein with dessert or as dessert. Instructions 1. About Icewine o 1 Know what Icewine is. In order to effectively choose an Icewine, become familiar with the beverage. Icewine originated in Germany in the late- 1700s, and is also called Eiswein. Bottles of Icewine could be labeled either way. What makes Icewine different from white wine is that they are the last grapes plucked from the vine. The grapes, usually Vidal or Riesling variety, are left on the vine until a deep freeze occurs. The cold weather causes the sugar in the grape to concentrate, therefore, making the wine sweeter than white wine. o 2 Choose the right Icewine. When picking a bottle of Icewine, look for ones made in either Germany, Austria or Canada. The most popular Icewines come from the Niagara Peninsula of Canada. The color of the Icewine should be golden or amber. Note any production methods you can find about the wine-- Icewine should always be handpicked and frozen in 10- to 13-degrees Celsius; anything colder would be detrimental to the grape. o 3 Serve Icewine cold. Try to buy a bottle of Icewine that is already refrigerated to cut down on the chilling time at home. When ordering a glass in a restaurant, be sure to note that the Icewine is much colder than the temperature white wine is being served at. When taking a bottle of Icewine home, chill it slightly in the freezer before transferring it to the refrigerator or a bucket of ice to chill for 1 to 2o hours. o 4 Serve and drink Icewine in a small cordial glass. This is a dessert wine and typically follows a hearty meal. The Icewine can be drunk alone or with edible sweets. The flavors of Icewine resemble apricot, peach, mango and melon, so it would be wise to serve an edible dessert that complements these flavors. Foremost, Icewine is for sipping, much like Brandy, and not drinking in large shot-like gulps. o 5 It is typical for Icewine to have a lower alcohol content than table wine. Some German Icewines have an alcohol content as low as 6 percent, while Canadian Icewines have a higher alcohol content of 8 to 13 percent. Since it takes nearly an entire vine of frozen grapes to make one bottle of Icewine, these beverages are generally expensive. For a true Eiswein the grapes must picked while frozen on the vine and pressed before thawed. For this reason alone, there are only a few places in the world where this wine can be produced. Because much of the water in the berries is frozen, when pressed, the resulting juice is far less yield-wise, but highly concentrated, rich, and flavorful. That is one reason why true ice wines can be so pricey - you are not getting much juice out of those berries. Additionally, the frozen berries are usually left hanging up to three months after harvest and picked at night when it’s the coldest. Leaving grapes to hang this long after ripening is risky. What if Mother Nature decides to be difficult? And let’s not forget our feathered pals, who crave ripe grapes – frozen or not. When everything works correctly, the resulting wines are typically mouth-filling, rich, and deliciously sweet with high natural residual sugars, balanced by high natural acidity. These wines drink well young and have long aging potential due to their high sugar and acidity levels. Now keep in mind that my description of Eiswein is very basic and meant to give you an idea – in the real world there are a number of standards and strict regulations involved to ensure genuineness and quality in the bottle. Eisweins are generally complex and interesting, and that is where, as wine lovers, we come to appreciate the vineyard risks, the hands that picked the berries in the dead of winter, and the winemaking process, which produces this pure and often-times pure & golden hedonistic pleasure we find packaged in attractive 375ml half-bottles. In closing, Eiswein is best served after dinner with a fruit-based dessert such as tarts, pastries, Crème brûlée, or better yet, enjoy a glass on its own as an aperitif and savor and enjoy every last drop! Got a favorite? Drop me an e-mail. Sweet Wine: Eiswein Sweet Wines Just as late harvest wines have their spiritual home in Alsace (you might argue it was Germany, but the Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese Prädikat categories have much more to to with the careful selection of grapes affected by Noble Rot than true vendange tardive character), so eiswein also has its birthplace. In this case it most certainly is Germany, and there are few other locations in the world that have seen any success with the production of sweet wines using this unique and fascinating method. It is of no surprise that, as is the case with botrytis, there are a number of myths and legends surrounding how the eiswein method was developed. Doubtless it was a serendipitous discovery, but just when and where it occurred is open to debate. Some put the occurrence as recently as the late 19th Century, when a bitter winter took the winemakers of Franconia by surprise. No doubt in such a situation the Franconians would have thought that all was lost, but in the face of great financial loss the frozen grapes were harvested and the surprising results widely appreciated. Eiswein could be considered as an extreme form of the late harvest method; the grapes are left to hang on the vine long after the usual moment of harvest. No doubt during this time they develop some of the passerillage character which results from a combination of dehydration and the creation of complex compounds following isolation from the vine as it enters its dormant winter phase. But these grapes see an essential extra step. Whereas late harvest wines are commonly brought in from the vineyard during October or November, grapes destined to make eiswein are left until winter fastens her icy grip on the vines. The winemakers watch as frost takes control of the vineyard, freezing what little vegetation remains, as well as the fruit. It is this freezing process that is absolutely essential, but the wait for a suitable frost can be a nail-biting one; losses to birds, rot, or a mild winter with no suitable frost all threaten the winemaker's livelihood. The grapes are ultimately harvested in December, or even in the ensuing January. The temperature must be low, below -8ºC to ensure that the grapes are sufficiently frozen and that they remain so on the way to the winery. Consequently, harvesting may be performed at night, or in the early morning, to ensure optimal conditions. The grapes are collected in whole bunches, a considerably easier process than the selection of individual berries affected by the rather more capricious Noble Rot, as required for Trockenbeerenauslese. Once back in the winery, the frozen grapes are pressed and the sweet juice, rich in sugar, acids and aromatic compounds, is collected and fermented. The ice crystals are held in the press, thereby concentrating the juice obtained, increasing its must weight, and achieving the necessary concentration of natural grape sugars that is necessary for producing a great sweet wine. The must weight required for a wine to achieve classification as eiswein varies from one region of Germany to another (as it does for most levels of the Prädikat, from Kabinett up to Auslese - the only exception is Trockenbeerenauslese). Eiswein must hit at least 110º Oechsle in several regions, including Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, but this figure climbs as high as 128º for Baden. Note that in all cases, however, this is less than that required for Trockenbeerenauslese, which must be at least 150º Oechsle. This disparity in required must weight, the comparative ease of production of eiswein when compared to Trockenbeerenauslese (botrytis is much less reliable and consistent than the winter weather), the ability to increase must weight by extraction of ice in the winery (Auslese and higher Prädikats must obviously come in from the vineyard at the appropriate must weight) and the high prices achieved by highly prized examples of eiswein has meant that many winemakers favour the eiswein route, often turning over less exciting vineyard plots to the production of this particular sweet wine.