A to Z of Wine: E is for... Eiswein A sweet wine designation used for German wines which have frozen on the vine and are pressed while still frozen. Eiswein appears to have become a common practice in the 1960s and used by most top estates by the 1980s. Freezing of the grapes on the vine impacts by concentrating the sugars to produce a lusciously sweet style but also increasing the acidity and extract. For a good quality Eiswein a frost of at least -8C is required and most picking is done in either November or December. Beware however, the very best examples can fetch chillingly high prices! NB. The technique is also used in Canada and is known as Icewine.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 14:16:01 +0000