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Is freezing in the freezer result in an Ice wine ?
Hey Guys,
I have just harvested my arbour of grapes (14 pounds) - they have surpassed all previous years in production and they are plump, sweet and full of juice. Unlike previous years I have to freeze them for a month ore two before I will be able to start the fermentation process. Will freezing in the freezer result in an Ice wine type when I start the fermentation process?
First of all, you aren't getting the flavor development in the grapes that come from hanging on the vine till the cold snap hits. Second, you have to press them in their frozen state; otherwise the frozen water crystals go back into the juice. You might even get some added skin phenolics that could downgrade the quality. They should be pressed into juice when picked, then freeze the juice if you can't get things going right away. The juice can be partially thawed such that you are draining off higher sugar juice while some water remains behind to create a dessert wine that way, but the product is a long way from ice wine.
Good Luck!
Is freezing process produce ice-wine?
Ok mitchell,
The freezing process by its self won't produce ice wine. However you can imitate the ice wine process by removing the grapes from the freezer, letting them partially thaw and press the partially frozen grapes to extract more of the sugars and leave the water behind in the form of ice crystals. This process would require a press to exert a lot of pressure in order to extract any juice. You would want to get the Bricks of the juice over 30 and then use low alcohol tolerant yeast to ferment.
You would probably only get 1/2 gallon of ice wine this way. That would be a lot of work and trouble for such a small amount of wine.
Enjoy it!!!
mitchell wrote:
Is freezing process produce ice-wine?
Freezing is a secondary process that increases alcohol levels in any fermented alcohol. The reason is simply that water freezes more easily than alcohol so the remaining liquid will have an increased alcohol percentage.
Ice wine is so called because the grapes are frozen on the vine prior to being harvested. When you look at the various grades of German wines, you can tell the time of harvest by the name. The later the harvest, the more concentrated the sugars, and therefore a sweeter and (supposedly) higher quality wine.
-Qualitatswein - Quality wine, meaning the grapes are at the peak of ripeness.
-Spaetlese - Literally "late taking" or a late harvest
-Auslese - Literally "out taking" meaning the grapes have been harvested well after the normal harvest peiod.
-Eiswein - Iced wine, meaning the grapes have been frozen on the vine. Keep in mind that by this time, the grapes will have been well past "ripe" and on their way to "raisin". There is not much juice left and sugars and enzymes are very concentrated. The lack of juice is another reason why the cost of commercial ice wine is so high. --Chris
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