Page 52 - Grapevine July-August 2015

International News

On the Vine or Not on the Vine?

When is Ice Wine Not Ice Wine?
By Phillip Woolgar

W hile ice wine accounts for only 1.2 per- Canadian vintners are concerned about the integri-
cent of Canada’s wine export volume, ty of their product. Ice wine is a gift from Winter. It
it produced an impressive 45 percent of is made from grapes that are left on the vine through
its revenue! In 2012 ice wine exports totaled 15.5 the fall into December and later. When the tempera-

million Canadian dollars including 8.5 million ture drops to -8 Celsius (about 17 Fahrenheit) the

just to China. The trend in recent years has been grapes change. The water inside the grapes freezes.
rapid growth. That growth has brought with it an When the water freezes, the sugars are concentrat-

increasing amount of “fake” ice wine, wine made ed. So is the “must,” the juice from the pressing of

from grapes that did not freeze on the vine. How these grapes which includes the seeds, skins, and,
big a problem is fake ice wine? Randy Dufour of stems. But ice wine is not just another sweet dessert

Canada’s Inniskillin Wines estimated that up to half wine. Other dessert wines get their sweetness from

the ice wine on Chinese retail shelves is fake. a type of fungus called Noble Rot. Ice wine is the

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