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Making Canadian Icewine
Canada’s Toast to the Land
The origin of Icewine has its cherished myths. Some say, at the end of the 18th century, German farmers accidentally discovered Icewine after trying to save their frozen grapes.
Today, making Icewine is a Canadian game. We may not have invented Icewine, but we have perfected it. Canada's Niagara region has the long, warm summers and freezing cold winters that create the ideal conditions for Icewine.
At The Ice House, we make Northern Ice™ by leaving our grapes on the vines well into winter to allow Mother Nature to cultivate the grape's flavor complexity as it ripens.
The critical season for Icewine is not Mother Nature’s freezer (-8 C for harvesting) but rather her refrigerator. Cold but not freezing temperatures in November and early December is when the mysterious and magical flavor transformation occurs. The Vidal grape has a naturally late season maturation and tough resilience which makes it the perfect Icewine variety. Vidal can consistently “hold” on the vine, year in and year out, developing the top notes of apricot, peach and lychee with the underlying flavours of butterscotch, caramel and honey awaiting the unpredicatable deep freeze. Vidal is the steadying partner in an otherwise nerve wracking winemaking experience.
Our Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon is our "Rare Red" Icewine, this grape requires higher maintenance than Vidal and is not consistently available. Its rich raspberry, plum and cranberry notes which Mother Nature develops are worth the constant care.
At minus eight degrees Celsius, the snow and ice-covered bunches are hand-picked, often in the dark of night. While still naturally frozen, the grapes are rushed to our century-old winery, where they are pressed frozen. The juice, now highly concentrated, is transferred to state-of-the-art tanks and fermented and aged under the watchful eye of Jamie until it’s ready for bottling.
Through patience and care, our line of Northern Ice™ is magically transformed into a range of vibrant, jewel toned liquids, each with a complex, elegant taste, unrivalled anywhere in the world.
“ Working together to manifest abundance, growth, creativity and friendship.”
- Part Three of Seven: France: the land of winemaking. 05-Feb-2012
- Part Two of Seven: What does a winemaker do? 03-Feb-2012
- Part One of Seven -The Road to Making Icewine 15-Dec-2011
- The Ice House shows off their Premium Icewine on the Steven and Chris Show 18-Nov-2011
- The Ice House Awards - Grand Gold Award Winner 17-Nov-2011
| Watch Karen on the Steven and Chris Show Thursday November 17th |
| September, 2011 - Mike Chalut Proud FM interview |
| August 27, 2011: Passion Event |
| August 2011 Events: Two NEW Icewine Releases! |
| July 2011 Events: Toast to Life with Northern Ice |