Winemaking Technique
Ice Wine Production
Harvest & Must Adjustment
Ice wine production harvests grapes frozen on the vine, pressing them while solid so water stays as ice crystals and sugar-rich juice runs off. Canada and Germany lead production of these intensely sweet, high-acid dessert wines.
Also known as: Eiswein, Icewine, Frozen harvest
Purpose
Produce lusciously sweet wine from naturally frozen grapes.
Process stage
Harvest
How it works
- Ice wine
- Dessert wine
- Premium sweet styles
Common wine styles
Common grape varieties
Common regions
Descriptors created
Opposite techniques
Serving implications
Beginner explanation
Real ice wine requires grapes frozen on the vine — cryoextraction is the technical alternative.
FAQ
- Why is ice wine expensive?
- Yields are tiny — frozen grapes produce minimal juice — and harvest happens in dangerous pre-dawn cold.
Related ontology entities
- Riesling Wine Style
- Chenin Blanc Wine Style
- Gewürztraminer Wine Style
- Germany Wine Region
- Austria Wine Region
- Mosel Wine Region
- Honeyed Descriptor
- Crisp Descriptor
- Floral Descriptor
- Riesling Grape Variety
- Dessert Wine Glass Serving
- Chilled Serving