12 NORTHERN GUIDE JUNE 8, 2003 Wineries turn frozen grapes into liquid gold

BY AL FROST Lee Lutes, winemaker at Black Star o the connoisseur , or Farms. “We sense when the grapes are “Eiswein,” is liquid gold. getting cold enough and literally have TConsidered rare, ice wine is a people on call to help the popular as an after dinner wine or even grapes.” as an aperitif. The wineries of northern The internal freezing of the grapes Michigan have produced award-wining concentrates flavors and sugars result- ice wines in recent years. ing in a sweet wine with intense fruit Originating in Franconia, Germany flavors. Ice wines also require many in 1794, ice wine must be naturally grapes, in some cases 10 times as many produced, with no artificial freezing as a regular bottle of wine. allowed. The process to make a true ice Cold temperatures late last November wine is to leave grapes on the vines and December allowed Lutes and a long after the traditional harvest. crew of 15 hearty souls to harvest ice Temperatures need to reach well below wine grapes over a two-day period early freezing for three to four days, and har- in December of 2002. vesting ice wine grapes is all a matter of “It was cold, in fact the one morning timing. the temperature was 10 degrees and “The internal temperatures of the with the wind coming off of West Bay grapes needs to reach 17 degrees,” said the wind chill was well below zero,” Record-Eagle file photo/Elizabeth Conley Valentena Alekseyeenko picks Reisling grapes for ice wine last year on Old Mission Peninsula. said Lutes. “It will be well worth the room. effort as we harvested a record crop and “This wine is incredible, I usually one of quality.” don’t like sweet wines but this is an The Leelanau Club The 2002 crop has some tough com- exception,” said Joe Breidenstein, a AT BAHLE FARMS petition. Black Star Farms 2000 A cap- recent visitor to Bel Lago. “I picked up pela Ice Wine took home sev- hints of honey, peach, apricot and pear, eral honors including Best of Category: quite frankly I have never tasted any- 2002 Michigan State Fair, gold medals thing quite like it.” at the 2002 International Eastern Wine Breidenstein’s enthusiasm is similar to Competition, Grand Harvest Awards many first time tasters of ice wine. He and Tasters Guild International Wine is among the lucky ones who caught Judging, as well as silver medals at the Edson on a day when he had his ice 2002 Riverside International Wine wine available for tasting. Ice wines are Competition and the Los Angeles usually not sampled at the tasting County Fair. Both of these competi- rooms primarily because of limited tions are considered benchmarks of the quantities. Prices in the region range Witness the grandeur of Leelanau County while industry. from $50 to $100 for a 375 ml bottle. experiencing exceptional golf in Suttons Bay. In addition to their success in these Ice wine is to be savored and is usual- competitions, Black Star received a ly enjoyed 2 ounces at a time. It pairs score of 87 in Wine Spectator. nicely with just about any dessert and Ice wines are produced primarily in even before dinner with cheese. $ Germany, Austria and Canada. The On the Old Mission Peninsula both Sunday-Thursday wine is a deep, rich amber and has a Chateau Grand Traverse and Chateau 39 very sweet taste. The flavor is a combi- Chantal produce ice wines. Both nation of apricot, peach, mango or wineries have won awards over the $ other sweet fruits. There is often a years for their ice wines. nutty smell to it as well. The wine is Al Frost writes from his home in Friday and Saturday chilled for one or two hours. It is usual- northern Michigan. 49 ly served in small cordial glasses. 18 Holes with Cart Black Star is not alone in producing ice wines, several other wineries in the area also are creating great ice wines, May 16th - June 26th but limited quantities are often made preventing them from entering wine competitions (many competitions 271.2020 require a minimum production to for Tee Times & Information enter). At Bel Lago Vineyards winemaker Minutes from West Bay, from Traverse City take M22 (9 miles) Charlie Edson produces a Pinot Grigio north to Fort Road, west to 633, north to Otto Road, west 1 mile. Ice Wine. His 2000 version has been www.leelanauclub.com 6-8.wt.702609 popular with visitors to his tasting