Sticky Treats Well the weather outside is frightful, but the Icewine is so delightful… As with so much of history, the origin by which we have come to enjoy Icewine is anyone’s guess, as it is subject to myriad legends, but a personal favourite among them is this: Once upon a time when the world was ruled by kings-a-plenty, there lived a couple of German winemakers whose jobs were to make wine for their king to drink. These two were going along with their jobs quite happily as they had for many years previous when one day the unthinkable occurred – a frost came over the harvest, freezing the grapes solid before they could remove them from the vines! In order to make good wine, they had always left the grapes on the vines until they were fully ripened, harvesting them fresh at the peak of their flavour, then crushing and fermenting them into the wine that the king had always enjoyed. Now that the grapes were frozen on the vine, they could not be harvested fresh and the two surmised that thawed soggy grapes would surely not produce a good wine. Now these winemakers knew, as everyone did in those ancient times, that any disappointment to the king would result in the sure loss of their heads. (And what could be more disappointing than a bad wine?) So, the poor chums did the only thing that they could think of to do: They harvested the grapes while still frozen, crushing and pressing them to the best of their abilities as they would have had the grapes been fresh. The hard ice inside the grapes had made them very hard to press but teases of nectar came out in drips and the two winemakers made the resulting juice, what little there was of it, into wine. Well, a funny thing came of this desperate experiment – the wine was served to the king and the king loved it! He asked what his winemakers had done differently, praised them for their ingenuity, and decreed that Germany would become known for its “Eiswein” in years to follow. Who knows if this story bears any semblance to what really brought this sweet elixir into our world, but one thing is certain – Icewine is an absolute treat to the palate. But it doesn’t come cheap, so there is good news to be had: Icewine isn’t the only wine out there that can practically glue your lips together with its sweetness. There are stickies on our liquor store shelves from all parts of the world. British Columbia makes more than its share of sweet wines, including Icewine and branching out to Late Harvests and Botrytis Affected wines too. (Don’t let the scientific terminology scare you – Botrytis is known in the winemaking world as the “good mold” that extracts moisture from grapes on the vine, leaving sweet tasting raisins behind which taste exquisite as wine.) Other homes to sweet wine production are the relatively cool-climate European vineyards of Austria, France and Italy boasting sweet wines from Late Harvest grapes such as semillon and muscat. Of course Germany makes many sweet wines too being the founders of Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese which loosely translate to mean Late Harvest and Select Late Harvest wines respectively. The warmer parts of the world are also active in the sweet winemaking trend, not to be left behind. Hotspots like Australia and Chile compete with top-quality stickies and at prices that won’t break the bank. These sweet wines are often referred to as ‘Dessert wines’ as they represent about the same amount of sweetness as your average slice of pie-à-la-mode and they are a fine way to end a meal. But they also have many other places in our gastronomy of flavours and the holiday season encompasses of the occasions by which we should indulge in these vinicultural delights. If ever there was a time to enjoy foie gras it should be the holidays. Classics like Sauternes are often served with pan-seared foie gras while more affordable versions such as Late Harvest wines from B.C. are an excellent enhancement to culinary concoctions like goose liver paté or mousse. Cheese plates are another popular partner of sweet wines as they often feature assortments of nuts and dried fruits, both perfect pairings with stickies such as sweet muscats and late-harvest wines. Of course, there’s nothing to say that anyone should wait until the end of a meal to enjoy these wonderful wines – they make exquisite before-dinner drinks as well, chilled and served as aperitifs. When served at the start of an event, guests whet their palates while mingling, getting a taste of what is to come. Folklore, fable, fantasy or fact – no one really knows how this wonderful gift of Icewine came to be. Whatever the case, it is something to be celebrated this season and next.
Mission Hill Reserve Late Harvest Riesling
+668566 $34.99 Whistler Merlot Icewine (200mL) +244178 $24.99 Quails Gate Optima +390328 $32.99 Paradise Ranch Chardonnay Icewine +587006 $59.99 Château Armajan des Ormes +147090 $29.95 Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc +427054 $13.49 Paul Jaboulet Muscat Beaumes de Venise +352088 $22.99 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon +554766 $29.99 Monchhof Trokenbeerenauslese +49569 $49.95 Inniskillin Okanagan Dark Horse Riesling Icewine +558445 $60.00 |
