producers generally follow Canadian rules. production standards are not as stringent as they are in Canada, but where Ice Wine is produced in the U.S. treasury department’s Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) specifies Ice Wine grapes must be naturally frozen. was produced in the Finger Lakes region of New York in 1981, under the Great Western label of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company (circa 1860s) Michigan Ice Wine followed in 1983. The first commercial Ice Wine in the U.S. Since then Canada has become the world’s leading Ice Wine producer, especially Ontario Province. The first commercial Ice Wine in North America was released in British Columbia in 1978. Regions near and around the Great Lakes provide the perfect climate for Ice Wine production. But less liquid volume per ton of grapes means higher prices. The volume of liquid that remains crystalizes in the deep freeze, intensely concentrating the sugars and acids, which is what makes Ice Wine alluring in the glass. That’s because the longer they hang on the vine the more the liquid inside the grape skins evaporates. How long it takes to reach that 35 Brix is largely what determines how much the resulting Ice Wine will cost. Encased in ice on the vine the grapes must be picked and pressed immediately in a continuous process so they remain frozen with no melting ice.īy the time of harvest, grapes for Ice Wine are usually black raisins. In Canada, the frozen grapes must measure no less than 35 Brix-one degree Brix is equal to 1 gram of sugar (sucrose) in 100 grams of juice. The air temperature must be -8☌ (17.6F) or lower long enough to create ice to form around the grape clusters. In October, when the last of the grape crops are coming into the winery, a producer wanting to produce Ice Wine must decide whether the condition of the grapes is suitable for them to hang on the vine until such time as the serious frost required arrives.
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