Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/10/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Canadian law requires the air temperature to be several degrees colder than German law allows before the frozen grapes may be legally harvested for ice wine (eiswein in German), hence the more consistent quality from the Canadian product. But the German vineyards are often on extremely steep hillsides -- while Canadian vineyards are fairly flat -- and so this superior drainage (vines produce better grapes when roots are not damp) partially offsets the quality advantage afforded by the stricter Canadian rules. As a professional winetaster, I have no hesitation stating that the most interesting Canadian ice wines are made from red grapes, especially Cabernet Franc. These are generally the only table wines that match really well with chocolate-based desserts. Some of my photos of iced grapes being harvested have appeared in various Reader's Digest publications. Now if we could only get them to grow these grapes in Midland (alas, much too far north), we'd be almost OT... There is a German winemaker named Josef Leitz who makes eiswein on the Rhine, though. Emanuel