Piedmontes Icewine
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| Winter harvest for Eiswein production | |
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| Bunches left on the vine until past mid winter for the production of Eiswein | |
With this initiative the Alta Valle Susa wine area joins the exclusive world wine zone where the Eiswein are produced. Eiswein is the name by which these wines are mostly known around the world, and comes from the original German definition. Variation on the name include Ice Wine, Eiswine and Icewein.
The name comes from the particular production method, which starts with an extremely late harvest, with the bunches left on the vine until mid-to-late winter, wgen temperatures fall to -7°C (44.6°F), and grapes are often covered by a generous layer of snow at harvest time. This way the grapes lose a lot of volume and weight, while the aromas are concentrated and a unique enzymatic transformation take place. The result is a dense, almost pasty wine, with intense color, extremely rich perfume and a unique flavor which, in many cases, is totally different from that of the original grapes.
There are few areas in the world which allow such late harvests, due to the particular climate and environment needed. With this project, Piedmont becomes part of the exclusive world wine zone where Eiswein is produced. Currently in Europe these wines are produced in the Austrian Burgerland zone and in Germany, where the first experiment using this method was carried out in the 18th century.
The Avanà, a local native vine that has been grown in the Susa Valley from time immemorial, will join the other varieties of grapes used to make Eiswein, such as the great Riesling Seyval Blanc, the Canadian Pinot and Baco Noir, the Cabernet Franc and Vidal Blanc, Muskat Ottonel, Moscato Bianco, Malvasia di Candia and the Priè Blanc from Morgex, and last but not least, the Gewurztraminer and Ehrenfelser grown in the Austrian-German wine zones where this kind of wine was first produced.
The Cooperativa Clarea from Chiomonte left several rows of Avanà vines untouched during the latest harvest and protected them with nets. The grapes will be harvested soon and pressed at the Cantina la Maddalena (Maddalena Winery.)
The American Shortcut
As it often happen with wine and food products from old Europe, the US get the idea and, with an almost childish impatience that wants everything now, reproduce artificially environmental situation to obtain in less time and with less struggle products which are 'similar' to the original.
Eiswein do not represent an exception to this rule. In fact, in an article published by the Wine Enthusiast magazine, Randall Grahm, the US largest producer of artificially frozen ice wine under his Bonnie Doon label, poked fun at the Europeans: “…they are going to be very unhappy when they realize that they needn’t careen around those 45-degree slopes at five in the morning, freezing their clusters off, when a simple trip to a commercial freezer would accomplish basically the same effect.”
Does nature impart nuances and layers of taste to the grapes while they remain on the vine, usually well past Christmas and into the new year, that a commercial freezer can not provide? Luckily, most wine lovers don’t even consider this to be a serious question, thus Icewine produced with artificial freezing is considered to be of lower value and will typically sell at half the price of those made in the traditional way.
To be sure, both methods do employ the same basic trick though: a grape is made up mostly of water, and since only the water will freeze at those low temperatures, the sweet grape juice can be pressed from the grapes while the water remains trapped in the skins of the grapes in the form of pressed ice.
Pairing
Eisweins have a high sugar content, which is well balanced with the acidity, thus they are the perfect meditation wines, with flavor of dried and exotic fruits, honey and toasted aromas. In addition to being a perfect pair for those not-so-sweet desserts, Eiswein is excellent with fois gras and herb-flavored cheese.
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