Ice Wine

It's harvest time!

"What?" you say. Yep, it is harvest time in Canada and Germany, where some of the best Ice Wine (or Eiswein) is produced. A year ago, I wrote about dessert wines, but only touched on the subject of Ice Wine. So, this week, in honor of the 2013 harvest, I thought we might take a look at how ice wine is produced.

First, there are only a few spots in the world, where it gets cold enough to make ice wine. Canada and Germany of the most likely location, accounting for about 75% of the worldwide production.. But, not only does it have to get cold enough, the growers need a good growing season in the summer months. Ideally a hot summer, allowing the grapes to ripen and build their sugar levels. Next, they need a dry fall, avoiding rot. And finally, they need a cold, sharp winter with consistent temperatures below 15 degrees fahrenheit. Often times, this means harvesting in the dead of the night. All the while, the grapes remain on the vine, exposed to the elements, as well as birds and deer. It can be a real gamble as to whether or not the vintage will be successful.

So, why are cold temperatures so important? Well, the idea is to concentrate the sugars in the grapes. When they freeze, only the water freezes in the grapes, leaving a concentrated juice. The brix levels (one degree brix is equal to one gram of sucrose in 100 grams of juice) can reach in the 40's. Normal still wines, are harvested around 24 to 26 brix..

The grapes are then harvested, either by hand or machine, and transported to the containers, and ultimately the press. The pressing of grapes for regular wine is very gentle, but in the case of ice wine, the pressing is much more aggressive, squeezing at high pressure to extract what little juice is still available in the grape. Some times, this can be just a trickle of juice.

Since the pressed juice is so high in sugar, we need acid to balance the sugar, and for that reason, we typically see grapes grown with natural acidity: Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and, in Canada ,Vidal (a hybrid). Additionally, the high sugar levels mean that the yeasts involved in producing alcohol, will have a tough time. Fermentation can actually take months, and special strains of yeast are used. Even with the long fermentation, the juice will never fully convert to alcohol, so we are left with a high amount of residual sugar, making a medium to full bodied wine with a slightly lower alcohol level that regular wine.

In Canada and Germany the grapes must naturally freeze on the vine to be called ice wine. But, in some other countries, cryoextraction is done, to mechanically produce something similar to natural ice wines. These types of wines are sometimes referred to as "icebox wines".

So, now that the harvest is underway, we should start seeing this vintage on the shelf just in time for summer. But no need to wait that long, go out and find a bottle of last years vintage at your local wine shop. For my money, the best known producer in Ontario, Canada is Inniskillin. Look for it, and give it a try!
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Aging Wine

Over the last week, I have had the opportunity to open up some old bottles of wine with friends and family. The 30 year old Burgundy was still holding up, but the 1969 St. Emilion was over the hill. I had made a comment on Facebook, that a wine was past it’s prime, which generated a question…”Aren’t all wines better as they get older, and what do you mean by past its’ prime?”. I wrote about drinking or holding a wine about two years ago, but maybe it's  time to take another look.

First, not all wine benefits from aging. Matter of fact, most wines are meant to be consumed within a year of release. I've heard that the average wine consumer holds on to a bottle of wine for about 40 minutes (the time of purchase to the drive home and consumption). Wine is a perishable product, and due to chemical reactions within the bottle, and oxygen exchange through the cork, the wine will change, and eventually deteriorate. There are a number of factors that affect a wines “ageability”. These include the grape variety, the vintage, the vineyard practices, and the winemaking process, as well as the bottle closure (screwcaps versus corks).

The grape variety will determine the sugar (and ultimately the alcohol) levels, the tannins, and the acids. The vintage is all the affects of climate/weather on the vineyards, which can also influence the final wine product.

The key factors that influence the ageability of  a wine are: acidity, residual sugar, alcohol levels, tannins, and ultimately the flavor and aroma of the wine.

Acidity is what preserves a wine. Acidity determines the pH level of the wine. But, too much acidity can be a flaw. Acidity does not change as a wine ages, it is constant. So, if it has too much or too little to begin with, the wine will only show more of the flaw over time. Wines with high residual sugar will age if they have balanced acidity. Without acids, the residual sugar will make for an odd wine after aging.

Alcohol levels in wine must also be balanced. When I taste a wine, I feel the burn in the back of my throat, if the alcohol is not balanced. Alcohol does not change in wine over time either, so just like acid, it must be in balance.

Tannin is that astringent feeling you get on your gums, after swirling the wine in your mouth. Tannins come from the skins, seeds and even oak aging. We don’t associate white wines with tannins (except from extensive oak aging), but for red wines, it is one of the components that allows the wine to age well. Some tannins are “green” or even gritty. Unfortunately, these types of tannins rarely age well, and actually only get more concentrated. I look for ripe tannins, that will mellow over time, and contribute to a smooth mouthfeel.

 In general, red wines with high acidity (such as Pinot noir and Sangiovese) have a greater capability of aging. Additionally, red wines, a high level tannins (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo and Syrah), will usually be wines will stand the test of time. The white wines with the best aging potential tend to be those with a high amount of acidity (Chenin Blanc, Riesling). The acidity in white wines plays a similar role that tannins have with red wines in acting as a preservative.

As red wine ages, the red color will eventually fade to a light brick red, and ultimately brown. White wines will also move towards golden, then brown. These changes occur due to the chemical and oxygen reactions of the phenolic compounds in the wine.

When I taste a wine, I am looking for concentration of flavors and aroma. If it’s not there in the beginning, it will probably never improve. As a wine begins to age,  the aromas will change to a bouquet. Where we tasted fruit in the young wine, now we might taste something more complex, with notes of dried fruit, and earth. The finish will be long and pleasant. However, there will come a point when the wine has reached is “prime” or “peak”, and will not improve any further. It will actually decay, and die in the bottle. The challenge is to try to hold a wine until it’s peak, and no further. There is no set formula for figuring this out, and for that reason, I purchase numerous bottles, and start tasting when I have guessed the optimum aging time (also you can check sites like www.cellartracker.com, and read the notes of other tasters).

In the end, balance is the key. An unbalanced wine won’t age well. When you find a wine that is balanced with great intensity of all the key factors, that is the wine you want to age. The timing, though, is at best guess, and comes with a lot of trial and error. And, of course, it should go without saying....make sure you store the wine properly.

Christmas in the Air

Smells can bring back memories. To this day, I can go to Disneyland and smell the water on the jungle ride, and immediately flash back to being a kid. The same with Christmas. There are certain spices and smells that I always associate with Christmas. These aromas of Christmas go back to some European traditions. The smells of  a fresh cut Christmas trees, Gingerbread cookies, Stollen, fruitcake. The smells that remind me of Christmas are cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice and ginger.

Spices have a historic connection with the holiday. What did the three wise men bring to the baby Jesus on that first Christmas, besides gold? Frankincense and Myrrh....both spices.

And where does wine come into the conversation? For over 2000 years, wine has been associated with the followers of Christ, as a metaphor for blood. What could be more traditional than wine with Christmas. But, if you want to add the spices of Christmas, then you might be interested in a traditional winter drink made of warm wine and spices. The most recognized is known as Mulled wine (British), Glögg (Nordic), Gluhwein (German), or even Vin chaud (France).

Whatever you want to call it, this mulled wine is a drink that is slowly heated along with sugar, spices, fruit, and sometimes, brandy. Originally this was done to mask the poor quality of old wine (prior to proper storage containers). The wine had been sitting around since harvest, and started to oxidize, so the only natural thing to do was to add spices, sugar, and other ingredients, to help improve the flavor.

While recipes show up as early as 1390, there are so many variations, that not one recipe can be called traditional. The most common ingredients are:

One bottle of red wine (Beaujolais, Zinfandel, or Merlot)
One peeled and sliced orange and or lemon (if you use the peel, remove the white pith, unless you like bitter wine)
1/4 cup of brandy
8-10 cloves
1/4 cup honey or sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp fresh  ginger
Other potential ingredients: allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, anise, raisins, cranberries

For best results, you want to slow cook the wine. Boiling will accelerate alcohol evaporation, so slow cooking is best. A crockpot is the best way to assure slow cooking, and filling your home with the smells of Christmas.

 So, this Christmas, either recreate the smells of Christmas past, or create new memories for your family and friends, but most of all, have a Merry Christmas!