COLUMBUS – They say it’s an ill wind that blows no one good and that could be said for this week’s chill, which is good news for those who make – and drink – ice wine in Ohio.
Ice wine is a dessert wine produced only in a few rare places around the world and the Grand River Valley in northeast Ohio is one of them.
The vintners of the region, which includes the towns of Geneva and Madison, on the Lake Erie shore east of Cleveland, say Wednesday and Thursday’s cold weather will provide nearly perfect conditions for picking these grapes.
Ice wines are made from grapes that are left hanging in the vineyard for several weeks following the traditional harvest season.
The grapes then slowly dehydrate and shrivel, but the original contents of each grape berry remains, concentrated, sweet and viscous.
The result is tiny quantities of virtual nectar, according to the Ohio Wine Producers Association.
On a series of freezing nights, hardy harvesters pick the frozen berries by hand in the frigid hours before the sun rises, said association spokeswoman Donniella Winchell.
The grapes are crushed and pressed in the wine cellar, producing “tiny quantities of virtual nectar,” Winchell explained.
The juice is transferred to stainless tanks to begin a fermentation process that takes about a year to complete.
Then, the wine is ready to be sipped slowly, preferably from a small crystal glass.
Ice wine “makes a perfect complement to the dessert course or can be enjoyed as dessert itself,” according to Winchell.
The winemakers of the Grand River Valley annually celebrate the story of Ice Wine the first three Saturdays in March.