COLUMBUS – While the rest of us huddle inside with a hot beverage, it’s harvest time at Ohio wineries that produce “ice wine.”
Sometime this week, when the temperatures hit their sweet spot (colder than 17 degrees Fahrenheit for three consecutive nights) frozen grapes will come off the vine in the Grand Valley region of Ohio to produce the dessert wine for which the region is becoming internationally known, according to the Ohio Wine Producers Association.
Ice wine is made from regular wine grapes that have thick skins and mature late in the season. They grow in bunches covered with nets to protect them from wind and animal damage and are left to hang for several months after the rest of the crop is harvested.
Traditionally, the grapes used are for white wines, like Vidal Blanc or Riesling, but some winemakers are experimenting with Cabernet and other varieties of red wine.
The berries dehydrate over several weeks and when freezing temperatures cause crystals of ice to pull additional liquid from the berries, pickers trudge through snow drifts and enter the vineyards in the middle of the night to pluck the frozen bunches by moonlight.
A thick, viscous juice is extracted from the grapes in small presses before the ice crystals can melt and dilute the liquid., yielding juiced that is five or six times as sweet as that which would have been extracted during the regular harvest season, association experts say.
The liquid is fermented slowly to retain optimum flavor and aroma and, in nine to 12 months, it is bottled, usually in ‘splits’ or half bottles which sell for $30 to $50.
Ice win originated in Germany and vintners have been producing it around the Finger Lakes region of New York, areas adjacent to Great Lakes Erie and in Ontario and Michigan in recent years.
Ohio’s foray into the effort began nearly a decade ago and the association says over two dozen wineries are producing ice win in the state.