Vintners zero in on Sunday for icewine

Winemakers lose about one-quarter of grapes every month in fall

A forecast low of -8 C on Sunday night has vineyard operators anticipating the possibility of an icewine harvest.

The earlier that grapes left on the vine for icewine are picked and crushed, the better, winemakers say.

“We like an early harvest because every month the grapes are left in the vineyard we lose about 25 per cent of them to wind, weather, and animals,” Eric von Krosigk, winemaker at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, said Tuesday.

About 15 per cent of Summerhill’s vineyards are reserved for icewine production.

“It would be fantastic if we could get out there and pick on Sunday night, but we won’t know for sure until later in the week,” he said.

While the Weather Network forecasts a low of -8 C for Sunday, Environment Canada is calling for overnight temperatures of only -4 C.

Grapes intended for icewine production must be harvested at a temperature of -8 C for the right combination of sugars and flavours.

St. Hubertus Winery, which has long produced icewine, is giving it a miss this year.

“With all the smoke we had in August, it just didn’t seem like a great year for prolonging the vintage,” co-owner Andy Gebert said. “Plus, the market for icewine is changing.

“Twenty years ago, people were really in love with it,” Gebert said. “Now, people want wine they can drink with a meal on a Tuesday, rather than super-expensive icewine that’s really just for a special occasion.”

For icewine, grapes are harvested when the water in the berries, but not the sugars, has frozen. The process yields a relatively small amount of extremely sweet juice, with the resulting bottles of icewine selling for much more than most other wines.

About two dozen Okanagan wineries made icewine in 2016 according to the BC Wine Authority.