Serve icewine two ounces per glass
Any time now temperatures in Niagara could take a sudden dip as we have tiptoed into December and the winter season.
That’s exactly what some winemakers in Niagara are looking forward to as they wait to harvest grapes for icewine.
I sit down with winemaker Scott McGregor from Lakeview Wine Co. in Niagara-on-the-Lake for an Icewine 101 of sorts.
Under VQA rules the grapes need to be frozen to at least –8 C and preferable –10 C, says McGregor.
“Icewine is a more difficult wine to make. We have to ensure we have the right fruit that is going to make it through the journey.
“It has to be very sound, in good condition with good ripeness and the flavour characters have to be there at normal harvest time. That fruit could stay on the vine as long as the end of January.”
The typical yield is about 15 per cent of what those grapes would have produced had they been picked during the earlier table wine harvest.
“Once the leaves come off the vines, the nets are closed up because the grapes are out there in the open,” says McGregor.
“The birds that are flying over can immediately see that fruit.”
McGregor says short freeze and thaw cycles help build character and depth to the wines but sustained negative temperatures are taken advantage of.
“Canada’s really become a leading place to make icewine because we have a guaranteed temperature drop usually in December and January and that’s what we need.”
“It becomes an on-call thing, the grapes need to be pressed frozen right away.
“If the temperature rises then picking is stopped.”
Once harvested, his challenge is finding that balance between inherent sweetness and acidity.
“Acidity gives it that balance that takes away that shockingly cloying sweetness. People have begun to notice that shocking sweetness can detract from the wine.”
It also makes a difference on how it allows the wine to pair with food, he explains.
The sweetness lends a viscosity to make it very opulent.
“The acidity helps bring all those characters together.”
McGregor suggests about two ounces per glass would suffice due to how sweet and rich an icewine is.
“My personal opinion,” says McGregor. “With small icewine or dessert glasses you might not get the wonderful aromas that you can from icewine. And a good tip is to slightly chill the glasses before serving.
While we think of it predominantly as a dessert wine but it doesn’t have to be.
“Over the course of the past few years, people have started making martinis and cocktails with it or adding it to sparkling wine.”
Finally, he suggests. If you are enjoying your icewine with dessert, the first rule is you don’t want the dessert to be sweeter than the icewine.
“If you have a white, enjoy it with fruit-based desserts while red icewine is exquisite with dark chocolate.“
They are also ideal for a variety of cheeses — blue-veined, triple cream, goat cheese, washed rind cheeses, aged cheeses, salty Parmesan.
We sample the Lakeview Cellars’ Cabernet Franc Icewine, which won a gold medal and best value distinction at the 2017 InterVin International Wine Awards.
Rich and opulent it shows strawberry and bright cherry.
Sounding a bit like Goldilocks, I found it not too sweet, not too sharp, it’s deft balance making it a pleasure to drink.
It is available from the Niagara Stone Road winery.