Pillitteri Estate Winery – 2004 Shiraz Ice Wine – From Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. The grapes for this wine were harvested on December 27, 2004, at 39.8 degrees Brix (each degree brix is equivalent to 1% sugar concentration when measured at 20°C).
Many wine drinkers have never tried Ice Wine or, in fact, may have never even heard of it. Ice Wine is super sweet and takes a good length of time to produce. Ice Wines have high sweetness levels with 160 to 220 g/L (grams per liter) of residual sugar.
There are many ways to produce sweet wines, however none is more extensive than producing Ice Wines. Ice Wine is produced in very cold climates and most importantly, from grapes that are frozen on the vines.
Canada is the largest producer of Ice Wine followed by Germany, Austria, and the United States. To be labeled an Ice Wine, the grapes must be picked and pressed while naturally frozen. This process is particularly important. Grapes cannot be picked, and then frozen.
Both red and white grapes are used to produce Ice Wine. The most popular grapes are Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Chenin Blanc and Gruner Veltliner. For red Ice Wine, the most popular grape is Cabernet Franc…especially in Canada.
Ice Wine is extremely sweet. Because of the sweetness, it is often served as a dessert wine. Ice Wine is very fruity tasting, and this goes along beautifully with its high sugar and acidity. Its alcohol level varies but most Ice Wines are usually around 10% alcohol.
Ice Wines stand out over normal dessert wines due to higher levels of acidity. Ice Wines pair well with most desserts. They also pair with strong cheeses such as Roquefort and older cheeses such as aged cheddar. I have found it to pair well with cobblers and crème brûlée.
Wine Bar Update
I am extremely excited to announce that the 530 Wine Bar will open on Wednesday, December 15th at 2 pm. Our team is looking forward to seeing you at the new wine bar. Please join us when you can.
As always, I appreciate your support of our wine blog and encourage you to share it with family and friends. If you care to share your comments on this blog posting or other topics, please do so in the comments section below.
Until next week,
Cheers
2022 Wine Events at LEX 530 Event Center
Friday, February 4 – Wine Dinner
Friday, February 25 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, March 11 – Wine Dinner
Friday, March 25 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, April 8 – Wine Dinner
Friday, April 22 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, May 13 – Wine Dinner
Friday, May 27 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, June 10 – Wine Dinner
Friday, June 24 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, July 8 – Wine Dinner
Friday, July 29 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, August 12 – Wine Dinner
Friday, August 26 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, September 9 – Wine Dinner
Friday, September 16 – Wine Talk & Taste
Tuesday, October 11 – Wine Dinner (Oktoberfest)
Friday, October 21 – Wine Talk & Taste
Friday, November 4 – Wine Dinner
Friday, November 18 – Wine Talk & Taste
What are the hours for the Wine Bar?
Hello Jeanne. The 530 Wine Bar will be open Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2 pm to 9 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 2 pm to 10 pm. It will be closed Monday and Tuesday.