The Karwig Wines's Blog

Eis Eis Baby

Eiswein. I love it. But it was not always so. You see, a few years ago, Eiswein (or Icewine) was something that held no appeal for me at all. I was guilty of making up my mind before opening it. Basically, although I have a sweet tooth, i thought that Eisweins would be too sweet for me. A bit like drinking a glass of golden syrup. Man, was I wrong.  

Well, my mind was changed one fateful day in London town. One of my best friends is a bit of a fan of dessert wines in general and eisweins in particular. We stopped off at a lovely small independant wine shop near where he and his wife live. Minutes later he was purchasing a most beautiful bottle of Inniskillen Icewine. I tried to talk him out of it as it was a wee bit expensive and I did not want to be ungrateful by not drinking a glass. He ignored me and opened it at home after chilling it for a wee while. He poured the golden liquid into the glass. I swirled. I sniffed. I tasted. I was blown away. I picked up the bottle and read the tasting note on the back  

Sublime aromatics of fresh lime, apricot, grapefruit and peach blossom with a slight minteral edge. A racy interplay of sweet and tart offer up echoing balanced flavours of lemon, lime and candied apricot.   

It was all that and more. To this day, it is one of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted.  

Bockheimer Grafenstuck Eiswein

Eiswein or Icewine is a dessert wine made from frozen grapes. The grapes literally freeze on the vine. The temperature must be a minimum of -8c so harvesting takes place later in the year (sometimes up to January). Think of putting on every bit of warm clothing you own and then heading out into the vineyard to work in the middle of the night. The grapes are crushed on arrival at the winery and the water (still in ice form) is taken away leaving a syrup that is intensely sweet and acidic.  

Notice the word acidic in there. That’s what most people don’t realise. Yes, Eisweins are gorgeously sweet but they also have high acidity. So you get a blast of intense sweet fruit on the palate. However it is not cloying at all as there follows a lovely rush of crisp acidity that clears the palate and makes you smack your lips and take another delicious sip. Its simply wonderful.  

Eisweins are low in alcohol and are made from a range of grape varieties including Riesling, Vidal, Silvaner, Scheurebe, Kerner and even Cabernet Franc (yep, the red one) to name a few. New World producers are increasingly experimenting with other grape varieties, both white and red.  

Being such a fan, I am lucky to have a number of Eisweins (and other dessert wines) in our warehouse and shop. They are well priced and superb quality. If you want to read a little more about dessert wines, check out the wonderful post done by @manicmammy  

The reason for this post (apart from being a massive Eiswein fan) is that tonight I am meeting some people for an Eiswein tasting. One is a convert, Roger Overall,  @rogeroverall (Roger also happens to be an award winning photographer) while another Paul O Mahony @omaniblog  has never tried an eiswein in his life (Paul is a writer and poet). It promises to be a fine tasting  in such creative company.