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Ice Wine - the Perfect Dessert! Ice wines are dessert wines made from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. Only the water inside the grape really freezes, the sugars and other solids do not. This brings in a sweeter, yet more acidic wine. The freezing happens before fermentation and only healthy grapes are used. Ice wines tend to be a bit more expensive than other dessert wines, but a little goes a long way. Historically ice wine seems to have started in 1829 in Germany after a harsh winter. Wine-growers left grapes hanging on the vines to be used as animal feed but noticed that the grapes smelled very sweet. They went ahead and pressed them and ice wine was born. There is some indication that the Romans may have done this as well, but there is no real documentation as to the process used. Germany and Canada are the main producers of ice wine, but Australia, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and parts of the United States are also producers. Riesling grapes are typically used to produce ice wines, but wine-makers are experimenting with other grapes and some are even looking at producing sparkling ice wines. Next time you are stumped on what to serve as a dessert, try some ice wine. Have a look at our videos for some great and tasty recipes using ice wines for cocktails.
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