BODENHEIM (dpa-AFX) – The return of winter with icy night temperatures of up to minus eleven degrees made it possible to harvest ice wine again in some places in January. “Ice wines are becoming increasingly rare,” said Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute (DWI) in Bodenheim, Rhine-Hesse. “Ice wine grapes were harvested successfully in many growing areas this year, but only from very few companies.”
For winemakers, ice wine always involves the risk that it has to be sufficiently cold for long enough. The areas registered for an ice wine harvest have therefore constantly declined in recent years, said Büscher. For an ice wine harvest, the grapes must be frozen through. This requires at least minus seven degrees for several hours.
On the Ahr, the Oliver Schell winery in Rech was able to harvest Pinot Noir grapes from the Möchberg/Mayschuss vineyard in January for the sought-after rarity, estimated for around 50 liters of grape must. According to information from the state investigation office, only one winery in the Palatinate was able to harvest frozen grapes of the rare Petit Manseng variety. The H. Freiberger winery in Heppenheim on the Hessische Bergstrasse harvested frozen Riesling grapes.
At the Herzer winery in Naumburg/Roßbach in the Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region, Pinot Blanc grapes could have been harvested for around 400 liters of ice wine, according to the DWI.
Frozen Cabernet Blanc grapes were harvested in the Meißen wine cooperative in Saxony. Winemaker Thomas Fröhlich from the Ilmbachr Hof winery in Ipfhofen in the Kitzingen district has succeeded for the first time in harvesting healthy grapes, namely the Silvaner variety, for his ice wine.
In Baden, five members of the Durbach winemakers harvested Riesling for ice wine. In Württemberg, the organic winery Häßermann from Waiblingen was there with Sauvignon gris. The Bernhard Ellwanger winery in Weinstadt harvested Cabernet Cubin grapes. Leon Gold’s team in Weinstadt is successful with Goldmuskateller. Christoph Klopfer was also able to obtain this grape variety from the winery of the same name. The Freudenstein-Hohenklingen winegrowers also reported a successful harvest of Riesling ice wine must.
For ice wine, the overripe grapes are harvested frozen and pressed. According to the DWI, ice wines usually have high residual sugar contents of significantly more than 100 grams per liter. Unlike southern sweet wines, they have relatively little alcohol, often around seven percent by volume.
Some companies could have harvested early ice wine as early as the beginning of December. Winegrowers in Rheinhessen, Württemberg, Franconia and on the Moselle were particularly successful in this./irs/DP/zb