12/13/05 Ice wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and right now in Washington state wine country it is soooo cold that we are likely to have Ice Wine this year. Hey that's no pun. I recently read an article in our local paper about how some vintners have left Riesling and Semillon grapes on the vine. No, the grapes have not been harvested. Many of them are hanging on the vines at a very high percentage of sugar. That sugar content means that it takes very, very cold temperatures - like down in the teens - in order for the grapes to freeze. And that my listeners is the key to making these wonderful wines. The vintners are in the vineyards in the middle of the night checking the grapes to see if they are "frozen hard enough" to harvest. If they are - they will be picked immediately and begin the long cold pressing to extract the syrupy juice that will be the basis for these amazing wines. Ice wines are extremely sweet but the acid is usually balanced enough to make them pleasingly cloying. Enjoy one with some blue cheese toasted nuts and dried fruit as a perfect dessert a your next dinner party. Now what you have to realize is that this is an involved process and it is a big risk for the wineries. So -These wines are a bit on the "spendy" side but they are worth it. Remember they don't come along every year. Conditions during the regular growing season, and after the harvest, into the winter, have to be just right. If it all that gambling pans out, we should be the beneficiaries of some fabulous ice wines. Known to many as, nectar of the Gods. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.