Ice Wine

[Shedhand]

I was in Canada in 2003 just after the winter ice wine grape harvest. Visited Jackson-Trigg Vineyard and Winery. Excellent tasting experience. I bought a bottle of the reputedly very excellent Ice Wine (the grapes are actually picked when they are frozen on the vine which concentrates the sugar content). $CAN80.00 for a 375ml bottle. Waiting for an auspicious moment to crack it with a fine dessert after which I will report. :wink:

[silentC]

We had a bottle of ice wine from Germany (Eiswein). It was RRP $80 but we were given it by a chap we used to buy a lot of wine from in Sydney. Apparently where the grapes were grown there is a bell in the town and when it rings, which could be the middle of the night, everyone in the village leaps out of bed and rushes out to pick the grapes because the timing is very important.

Personally, I think it is a bit over-rated - nice but not $80 nice. I prefer the noble rot, which sets you back a fair bit less.

[Shedhand]

Same in the place where I was with the bell ringing. Some wineries pick the grapes then freeze them before crushing but it isn't as good as the grapes tend to burst and the juice isn't anywhere near concentrated enough. I've tried the noble rot which was excellent (can't recall but it was a Tasmanian one about 1991). I'm assured by those in the know that the Jackson-Tritt drop is much better than the German product though its all a matter of personal taste in the end. I don't know if it improves with age as it's now 6 years in the bottle. Any idea whether dessert wines age well?
Cheers

[silentC]

Not sure about Ice Wine I believe wines like Noble One can be cellared for +10 years. I never leave them long enough to find out if they improve :-

[Barry Hicks]

All wine is good although some wine is gooder than others.
The biggest difference between a $10 bottle and a $30 bottle is the $20.

Barry Hicks

[silentC]

Err, yeah thanks for that Barry...

[Shedhand]

should that be Hics? :D

[Pricey]

The biggest difference between a $10 bottle and a $30 bottle is the $20.

Here, here.

I love the rot, go botritus, you rock.

Enjoy the ice though, it rocks too.

[Barry Hicks]

Like the man said, "Wine is like sex, even when it's bad, it's still pretty good!"

Barry Hicks

[ernknot]

I love Eiswein, it is different to other white wines but soooo delicious. When I was in Europe last year I had a few bottles. Great stuff.

[Poppa]

I've been a fan of stickies for a long time, and I've got a mixed case that I've had aging for about 8-9 years now. Mostly Aussie ones, not desperately expensive, but I find that the longer you age them the more the flavours are enhanced. My favourite sticky is a NZ from Isabel which is 100% bortrytis Sauv Blanc. I've tried Ice Wine (NZ, German, Austrian) and it is nice but I think my palate prefers a more beefy sticky - the Ice Wines are more refined and delicate in my experience.

[Shedhand]

All this talk weakened me. I just opened the Jackson-Triggs Ice Wine. In a word wonderful. Full flavoured sweetness without being sickly with just a touch of tartness on the sides of the tongue. I'm glad I waited the 6 years. We had it with a small bag of choc coated Arabica coffee beans. What a treat. Saved some for tomorrow night. I think the ex-swmbo wants me back... :D

[Pricey]

should that be Hics? :D
Are you related to Barry Wicks?:doh:

[Shedhand]

Are you related to Barry Wicks?:doh:Nope...and not Stevie Nicks either...:D

[Hagrid]

Not sure about Ice Wine I believe wines like Noble One can be cellared for +10 years. I never leave them long enough to find out if they improve :-

killing infants is a practice that should be discouraged.

[Hagrid]

Just spent the weekend at the Alcoholic frolic in Ruthergen and i must say you all missed something special.
I went to Bullers and got to try and Buy their RARE LIQUEUR TOKAY and CALLIOPE RARE LIQUEUR MUSCAT both have been given a 100/100 from Robert Parker and Me. For those of you that do not have the chance to go to Rutherglen i am truly sorry it is one of those places on Earth that God did his number Twos and made the ground holy.

Warrabilla owned by Andrew Sutherland Smith is the place that it all comes together for those of you who do not know Warrabilla is a punch in the head wine.
Where as Europe work on fine tollerances this wine is a true reflection of Australia.
In your face. the Parolas durif runs at about 18% and shows what real men are made of.
Hagrid

[Shedhand]

Just spent the weekend at the Alcoholic frolic in Ruthergen and i must say you all missed something special.
I went to Bullers and got to try and Buy their RARE LIQUEUR TOKAY and CALLIOPE RARE LIQUEUR MUSCAT both have been given a 100/100 from Robert Parker and Me. For those of you that do not have the chance to go to Rutherglen i am truly sorry it is one of those places on Earth that God did his number Twos and made the ground holy.

Warrabilla owned by Andrew Sutherland Smith is the place that it all comes together for those of you who do not know Warrabilla is a punch in the head wine.
Where as Europe work on fine tollerances this wine is a true reflection of Australia.
In your face. the Parolas durif runs at about 18% and shows what real men are made of.
HagridHmmm. with a monika like Hagrid you must have Viking blood coursing through your tubes. Wouldn't think 18% would do it for you mate... :D

[silentC]

killing infants is a practice that should be discouraged.
If you are hungry you need to eat...

[rod1949]

Kellermeister at Lyndock in South Australia do an absolutely luscious Vintage Eiswein along with a lot of other yummie stuff.

[Big Shed]

Kellermeister at Lyndock in South Australia do an absolutely luscious Vintage Eiswein along with a lot of other yummie stuff.

Yes and a Chocolate Port to die for:2tsup:

[rod1949]

Yes and a Chocolate Port to die for:2tsup:

Yes right-on there its called Sabel

[watson]

If you are hungry you need to eat...

Love the Noble One.
Love kids too,,,,,,,but I couldn't eat a whole one. (just had to didn't I)

[Big Shed]

Yes right-on there its called Sabel

Have about 9 bottles left from our last trip, yummy.................

[Stu in Tokyo]

Being Canadian, I have a real liking for Ice wine, and as a youth I picked grapes for Ice Wine, and I tell you that is one crappy, but well paying jog:rolleyes:

Up on the hillside well before dawn, pick until the sun comes over the mountains. I'm from Kelowna BC, one of the first, if not the first area in Canada that made ice wine, the Okanagan Valley. We make Ice wine there nearly every year, as it ALWAYS goes well below freezing, in Germany, the conditions are right only about once every ten years.

I have two bottles of Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Eiswein 750 ml 1995 vintage, that are just stunning, they have a VERY long life in front of them, I'd say at least another 20+ years.

Talking about the Noble Rot wine, I have lots and lots of those, some of the more spectacular ones are the Ch L' Extravagant Doisy Daene 1990, 1996, 1997


http://www.masutoh.com/contents/PRODUCTS/1061/product_image


These my grandkids will drink:U

I also have a large collection of Alois Kracher Noble rot wines, simply unreal, LOVE this stuff, which, if you look at my waist line, is obvious :B

Cheers!

(disclaimer, I do this for a living, as well as enjoying good wine, but I'm not trying to sell nothing to anyone here!)