“Once we press it, the difficulty comes in again when we go to ferment the juice,” Hosmer said. The temperature at the top of the hill is different than at the bottom, making production difficult since the grapes must stay in a 15- to 20-degree range from harvest to press. Hosmer’s vineyards, like most throughout the world, are situated on a hill or slope. “We go out there early in the morning to pick the grapes, and every year, we have a lot of false starts because we get out there and then realize it’s too warm.” ![]() “Once the temperatures begin to drop, the hard work begins. “We have to put nets over the vines to keep (the birds) from getting to the grapes,” he said. By letting the grapes stay on the vines throughout the ripening season, birds often come through and eat the grapes before they freeze. He said the first challenge winemakers face happens even before the temperatures drop. “Those grapes are harvested in the bitter cold, and the juice, basically syrup, that we get from these grapes is about a quarter of the amount of juice that we would typically get from this amount of grapes if it wasn’t frozen, so the yield is very low.”īrian Hosmer, winemaker at Chateau Chantal, located on Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula, said the challenges and risks he takes to produce ice wine makes it appealing. “We harvest at 17 degrees or colder, sometimes around 15 for us,” Lemon explained. “When we press our grapes for ice wine, it just runs out of the press in strands like syrup would.” This gets pressed out of the grapes to make ice wine, which is known for its sweet, intense flavors. ![]() And when the water in them freezes, concentrated sugars are left behind in the grapes. Remaining on the vine results in them being sweeter. ![]() Ice wine is made with grapes that have been allowed to stay on their vines throughout peak ripening season and into winter, allowing them to freeze. The popularity and allure of ice wine, according to Lemon, stems from the challenges that go into producing it. “When we press our grapes for ice wine, it just runs out of the press in strands like syrup would,” explained Jeff Lemon, winemaker at Lemon Creek Winery in Berrien Springs.
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