After an early freeze more than 200 years ago, what might have been a disaster resulted in a delicious natural wonder. Luckily for sweet wine lovers, the outcome was ice wine (also known as Eiswein). A winemaker in Germany pressed the frozen grapes and produced delicious, pure sweet juice. Eiswein is from Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland; ice wine is from Canada (British Columbia and Niagara Peninsula), the Finger Lakes in New York, northern New England, and the Northwest region of the United States, where the climate is cool. Timing is everything in the production of true ice wine. The fruit stays on the vine until temperatures fall well below 20°F (usually in December and January). The grapes must be picked by hand in the dark so that cold air can keep them frozen. Then the ice crystals are carefully pressed to yield a concentrated juice with a delicate flavor. Often an entire vine yields only a small amount of liquid (about 5 to 10 percent of the grape juice), and thus the price tends to be expensive.

This is why most ice wines are sold in half bottles (375 ml). Most ice wines are made from Riesling or Vidal Blanc grapes, but you can find many other varietals such as Pinot Gris, Muscat, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Viognier, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Franc. You can also find "sparkling" ice wines made from these varietals. Ice wines are well balanced with floral notes, fresh tropical citrus flavors, and other fruit flavors ranging from mango to peach to lychee nuts. They are well respected, always appreciated, and a perfect completion to your menu. Enjoy a small amount chilled in a wine or cordial glass. Ice wines are hard to find but worth the search. Visit your favorite local wine retailer, or purchase from the winery directly. 2007 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Eiswein, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, GermanyA classic German Eiswein—extremely rich, golden in color, full-bodied with honeysuckle, vanilla, caramel, and tropical fruit flavors. A great choice with foie gras and paté, along with strong cheeses, or on its own.

2007 Inniskillin Vidal Ice Wine, Okanagan Valley, CanadaWinner of Le Grand Prix d'Honneur at the Vins de Bordeaux competition, France. Golden in color with hints of mango and peach, the wine exudes delicate nectar and exquisite fruit flavors combined with invigorating acidity. 2006 Peller Estates, Riesling Ice Wine, Niagara Peninsula, CanadaA deep gold color with aromas of lemon, peach, and fresh tropical fruits, leading to flavors of apricot, honey, and oranges, with a hint of oak and spice on the finish. 2007 Dan Aykroyd Cabernet Franc Ice Wine, Niagara Peninsula, CanadaVibrant forest berry aromas mainly of raspberry and strawberry; the taste echoes these aromas with a velvety mouthfeel and lingering finish. Serve with chocolates, ice cream with berries, or fine cheeses. 2006 Pillitteri Estates Cabernet Franc Ice Wine, Niagara-on-the-Lake, CanadaAn alluring burnt apricot color, with aromas of apricot, peach, mango, and caramel with citrus flavors. Serve on top of creamy vanilla ice cream.

2005 Casa Larga, Vidal Fiori Delle Steele Ice Wine,Fing er Lakes, New YorkAn American beauty. Deep gold color that spins out honey and orange blossoms reminiscent of nectar. Pairs perfectly with New York cheesecake. 2007 Lamoreaux Landing Vidal Ice Wine, Finger Lakes, New YorkA great introduction to ice wine. Plenty of pear, pineapple, honey, and citrus aromas, with flavors of apple, pear, and maple. Enjoy as a dessert by itself, or serve with soft cheeses and fresh fruit.one hope wine club 2008 Newport Vineyards Vidal Ice Wine, Rhode IslandAfter the third frost, the grapes were harvested, producing a wine with aromas and tastes of smoky apricot, peach, and apple. list of biggest wine producing countriesEnjoy with fruit tarts.best wine of 1996

2007 King Estate Vin Glacé Pinot Gris, OregonMade from certified organic estate-grown grapes, frozen after harvest, this vin glacé (also known as ice wine) shows a light straw color with aromas and flavors of tropical fruits, with good acidity. Delicious alongside strawberry shortcake. < Prev Next > HomeFeatured HomesCoastal Home TVIn the GardenLifestyleTalentDining InGreen SenseWine CountryArchived LifestyleFab FourUpcoming EventsArt & DesignAsk the ExpertsBook Smart ReviewsSubscribeSubscribe TodayArchived Digital IssuesAbout Usbest french wine in ukThis week we toasted the Easter holiday, chilly ice wine and the newly released, hugely successful, mega-hit “Fate of the Furious” on our on reVolver Podcasts. best wine list chicagoThough an ice wine might not be the obvious choice, the small production, highly concentrated sweet wine cools off this huge film, which grossed $45+ million on opening night! best wine for dessert

More on both below. And, watch Gary’s review this week on KXAS-TV/NBC DFW here. To listen to the show just click here, and “Episode 42.” The second half of the show we also raise a glass to Rosé wines for Easter. A full list of the wines we talked about, and a few more, is here on, along with a link to my morning news segment on KXAS-TV/NBC DFW.  Gary also shared some of his favorite Easter films on the NBC DFW website, linked here. The Film: Fate of the Furious I came to the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise late because I disliked the earlier films so much.  I finally dropped my pretentiousness and embraced the fast-lane, fast-lives, nonsense and I have felt better ever since. “Fate of The Furious,” arrives as number eight in the big budget action series and says neither rain, snow, ice, Cuba, prison, or space, can keep a good car down. Vin Diesel goes roque, Dwayne Johnson winds up in prison, and the film features more beat downs with bad guys than most ten films.

And that’s the point. Beefcake, cheesecake, whatever cake you want is on full display in this film and is both anticipated and expected by the audience. Yes, it’s impressive to watch The Rock use his mighty arms as guns fighting his way out of a maximum security prison with Jason Statham,  and later in the movie it’s weird eye candy watching self driving cars over take a motorcade in Manhattan. Charlize Theron acts her socks off as the bad guy (person, woman) in “Fate Of The Furious, because there is no time for subtlety or nuance. It’s all out and all in or nothing in these movies and that includes Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, and Scott Eastwood. Is the dialogue often dumber than dumb? Yes, and so are some of the scenarios including a submarine chasing cars on ice sequence that makes no sense but is fun to watch. These are handsome, diverse characters directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton, The Italian Job, Friday) in a style that can only be called “Fast & Furious” style.

They have finally created  their own genre. Like it or not, they are immensely popular and have world wide appeal. And, in case you forgot,  “Furious 7” made more money than Disney’s “Frozen.” Furious takes place predominantly in New York and an icy cold, Russian-held island in the Nordic north, so for this chilly spot we’ll toast with an ice wine, and one from upstate New York seemed appropriate. Ice Wines, or Eisweins, are made by leaving ripe grapes on the vine until long after the usual harvest season, well into winter, when temperatures drop to -17.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This process causes the water in the grape to freeze, while the sugars do not, to make a concentrated, honey, dried fruit and overall sweet wine. The best ice wines come out of Germany, Austria, Canada and the United States, and come from grapes like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner and even Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Only a few countries produce it, and those that do deal with the fact that production will always be very small, so ice wine tends to be expensive.