DThis year, Bergsträßer winegrowers have once again succeeded in harvesting an ice wine in the smallest wine-growing region in Germany. On the night from Friday to Saturday, when the sky was clear, the temperatures in the vineyards fell to minus 12 degrees Celsius, well below the minus seven degrees required for an ice wine harvest.
While it was still dark, members of the Bergstrasse Winzer eG made their way to the vineyard and picked the coveted frozen grapes from the “Heppenheimer Stemmler” vineyard. The ice wine harvest has to be done quickly because the grapes must not thaw and must be pressed immediately after the harvest.
The Bergstrasse winegrowers are gradually switching their grape varieties to robust vines so that they are better prepared for hot and rainy summers. Grapes of the Souvignier gris variety, which have also been grown on Bergstrasse for several years, were harvested early on Saturday morning. Wines made from this grape variety have already received several high awards in recent years, which underlines the quality potential of this grape variety, according to the managing director of Bergsträßer Winzer eG, Patrick Straub.
25 boxes after 30 minutes of ice wine harvesting
The more than 20 harvest assistants worked in the vineyard wrapped in thick winter clothing and finished the harvest after just over half an hour. The yield was 25 boxes of ice wine grapes, which were immediately pressed. Straub expects a yield of less than 100 liters, which results in around 250 bottles, because ice wine is bottled in smaller 0.33 liter bottles.
Cellar master Thomas Schmitt was enthusiastic about the must weight of 170 Oechsle, which promises a very high-quality ice wine. “The excellent quality suggests an excellent ice wine from the 2023 vintage,” said Patrick Straub after the harvest. Although harvested in 2024, the wine is assigned to the 2023 vintage.
The Bergstrasse winegrowers produce an ice wine almost every year, which is due to the special climatic conditions. On some nights there are cold winds blowing from the heights of the vineyards in the Vorderen Odenwald into the valley areas, which causes the temperatures there to drop accordingly.
The Bergstrasse ice wines are stored in a wine archive at Winzer eG and date back to 1959. Such wines can still be purchased today if ordered in advance. In Germany, ice wine is primarily made from Riesling. At temperatures below zero, most of the water contained in the grapes freezes and fruit acid remains. This residual liquid must be squeezed out of the grapes immediately so that the frozen water remains.
For a long time, ice wines were only harvested in Germany, Austria and Luxembourg. Since the 1970s, most ice wine has come from Canada. Ice wine is also harvested in the US states of Michigan and Oregon, as well as in New Zealand.
According to an old tradition, ice wine was first discovered in Bingen-Dromersheim in 1830. After the year 1829 produced poor wine quality, most of the grapes remained on the vines. On the cold night of February 10th to 11th, 1830, a winemaker decided to harvest the remaining grapes and feed them to his animals. While tasting some grapes, he discovered their noble sweetness and decided to make wine from them.
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