Wollersheim Winery of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, harvested frozen grapes Tuesday in sub-freezing temperatures in preparation for producing ice wine.
“The harvest went really well. The quality is beautiful and the weather was perfect,” said Philippe Coquard, Wollersheim’s winemaker. “The quantity is always a little deceiving when the fruit is on the vines. It’s less than we expected, but we are very happy with what we have.”
Frozen St. Pepin grapes produce a highly concentrated juice that is pressed and then fermented slowly to produce an intensely sweet and concentrated wine.
“Ice wine is unique because it can only be made in the northern most states. We can make ice wine because we have the cold temperatures,” Coquard said. “While a place like California has the heat for an intense pinot noir or cabernet, we have the cold and we take advantage of what we have. California cannot make ice wine, and we can.”
Not every year has the right conditions for producing an ice wine. In 2019, a spring frost limited the crop available at the end of the season. Timing and weather are crucial.
“The longer you wait the more you lose to the weather and other factors," Coquard said. "You are trying to grab the very first cold snap to pick the grapes. This year we already cancelled it twice, so we feel very fortunate to have finally had the weather we needed."
The ice wine has been pressed and will ferment slowly until it is bottled and released at a later date in 2021.
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December 17, 2020 at 12:30AM
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WATCH NOW: Wisconsin winery harvests frozen grapes for ice wine - Baraboo News Republic
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