Ice wine is made from grapes left on the vine until frost takes hold of them. The grapes are picked frozen, often at night, and pressed while the water in the berries is still ice. What runs from the press is a small amount of concentrated juice, rich in both sugar and acidity. That combination is what makes ice wine, Eiswein in German, one of the most distinctive sweet wines in the world.
How ice wine is made: frozen grapes and very little juice
In Germany the grapes must be harvested at minus seven degrees Celsius or colder, so the water in each berry is frozen through. During pressing the ice crystals stay behind in the press and only the sweet, vivid juice runs off. Yields are tiny: roughly a tenth of the wine the same grapes would otherwise give.
The risk is just as large. The grapes hang from the normal October harvest until the first hard frost, sometimes well into January. Birds, wild boar, rot or a mild winter can take the whole crop. In the mild winter of 2019/20 the Eiswein harvest failed in most German regions, only a few areas such as Württemberg and Baden picked any, so that vintage is a rarity.
German Eiswein and the Prädikat system
Since 1982 Eiswein has been a Prädikat in its own right, with the same minimum must weight as Beerenauslese: 110 to 128 degrees Oechsle depending on region and grape. Before that, Eiswein was stated alongside another Prädikat, which is why so many older bottles read Eiswein-Auslese or Eiswein-Beerenauslese.
The difference from Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese is the fruit. Those are made from botrytised berries, while ice wine comes from healthy, frozen grapes. Ice wine therefore tastes cleaner and more linear, with citrus, green apple and apricot and a bright, cutting acidity, where botrytis wines lean towards honey and dried fruit.
Riesling ice wine from the Rheingau, Mosel and Nahe
Riesling is the classic grape, because its high acidity keeps the sweetness in balance for decades. From the Rheingau come the Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach with Steinberger and Rauenthaler Baiken, Schloss Johannisberg, Schloss Schönborn, Schloss Vollrads, G. H. von Mumm and Wegeler, whose Oestricher Lenchen "Christwein" was picked on Christmas Eve 1970.
From the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer come Joh. Jos. Prüm from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Egon Müller's Scharzhofberger, Markus Molitor, Max Ferd. Richter, Maximin Grünhaus and Dr. H. Thanisch from the Berncasteler Doctor. The Nahe is represented by Dönnhoff and Emrich-Schönleber. Vintages run from the 1960s to the present, in half bottles as well as the classic 0.7 litre. For more of Germany's great sweet and dry wines, explore our German wine range.
Canadian icewine and other styles
Austria makes Eiswein on the same principle, and Canada is now the world's largest producer of icewine, mostly from Vidal, Riesling and Cabernet Franc in Ontario's Niagara Peninsula. Canadian rules require the grapes to freeze naturally on the vine and to be picked and pressed at minus eight degrees or colder. The breakthrough came in 1991, when Inniskillin's 1989 Vidal Icewine won the Grand Prix d'Honneur at Vinexpo in Bordeaux.
Ice wine FAQ
What is ice wine?
A sweet wine made from grapes that froze naturally on the vine and were pressed while still frozen. Grapes frozen artificially in a winery do not qualify as Eiswein or Canadian icewine.
Is Canadian icewine the same as German Eiswein?
The method is the same. The difference is mostly in the grapes and the style: Canadian icewine is often made from Vidal and tends to be richer and more tropical, while German Eiswein is usually Riesling, with sharper acidity and a longer life in the bottle.
How long does ice wine last?
A very long time. Sugar and acidity preserve the wine, so good bottles develop for thirty years and more, becoming less sweet as they age. Once opened, ice wine keeps for about a week in the fridge.
What do you eat with ice wine?
Blue cheese, foie gras, fruit tarts and desserts with tart fruit. The dish should never be sweeter than the wine. Serve it at 8 to 10 degrees in small glasses. You will find more sweet wines among our dessert wines.