[February 10, 2010] The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa., Winestein column: Ice wine perfect sweet for Valentine's Day Tweet Feb 10, 2010 (The Times-Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Ice wine may be the sweet for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day. Once people try the unctuous nectar, they never forget it. It's the sort of special indulgence people won't buy for themselves, but would greatly appreciate as a gift. Ice wine is one of the most labor-intensive wines produced. Like a relationship, it requires commitment, love and luck. Grapes are left on the vine after harvest, through the fall and into winter. The leaves drop, the grapes wither and freeze, and the flavors and sugars inside concentrate. Botrytis is the wildcard -- a form of rot that can destroy some grapes. But for ice wine, botrytis adds complexity and intensity. Botrytis looks scary on a grape cluster, like a forgotten unsealed jar of jam. But it's the secret ingredient in great sweet wines such as Sauterne. These grapes are hand-harvested -- usually in the dead of a frozen night -- and pressed frozen on equipment moved outdoors. Ice crystals stay in the press and only the precious drops of sweet nectar are used to make the wine. To pull ice wine off, a winery has to be far enough north. So the best legitimate ice wines hail Germany and Ontario, Canada, and are made from grapes such as riesling or vidal. Some New York wineries make real ice wine. Others freeze the grapes artificially and call the wine "Vidal Ice" or use the term Vin de Glacier, or something like it. Hard to find Some ice wines are tough to find in Pennsylvania, although most specialty stores will have a few. Prices quoted are for 375 mL bottles. For an archetypal ice wine, try Jackson-Triggs 2007 Niagara Peninsula Vidal Icewine, which shows hints of apricot, vanilla, honey and peach, with a rich texture. Some 187 mL bottles of past vintages are available in Pennsylvania. Look to pay at least $60 for a 375 mL equivalent. HHHH 1/2 Inniskillin 2007 Niagara Peninsula Riesling Icewine smells of golden delicious cider, peach, honey and white chocolate. So viscous, it feels like it's melting in your mouth, revealing layers of flavors of tree fruits and intense sweetness offset by enough acidity to make your mouth water. So balanced and complex, the world slows down as you sip it. Special order in Pennsylvania at $85. Some stores have '04 for $74. HHHHH For a little less, you can get some of the lusciousness of ice wine without the expense. Washington-based Pacific Rim wine produces a Vin de Glaciere Selenium Vineyard Riesling. Rather than freezing on the vine, these grapes are picked ripe, frozen, then pressed, offering flavors of dried apricot, honey and tea around a simpler, lighter frame than its icy compatriots. $13. HHH 1/2 Serve these wines very cold, but watch things warm up after the first sip. GRADE: Exceptional HHHHH, Above average HHHH, Good HHH, Below average HH, Poor H. DAVID FALCHEK, a Times-Tribune business writer, reviews wines each week. Contact him at [email protected]. To see more of The Times-Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]