Icewine harvest in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley kicked off this past weekend.
The first frozen grapes were picked at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, starting at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 19, when the temperatures were at -9°C (15.8°F) to -11°C (12.2°F).
The harvest is the second-earliest in history, “second only to the Nov. 5 harvest in 2003,” according to a news release from the British Columbia Wine Institute.
It was “great to get some berries off this early in the season, but we were worried about the temperature rising as the clouds rolled in, so we only got a small portion of our harvest off in this first round,” Summerhill’s general manager Ezra Cipes told the BCWI.
“The quality is excellent with vibrant acidity that will balance the sweetness and make for a most elegant finished wine.”
This year, about 26 wineries will likely be making icewine, according to the BCWI; most winemakers will wait until later in December or January.
Icewine has been one of Canada’s best-known wines since it was first made in 1974 at the Okanagan Valley’s Hainle Vineyards.
Follow the harvest and other British Columbia wine news on Twitter @winebcdotcom and @wineaccessmag.
Shelley Boettcher is the Executive Editor of Wine Access magazine and is a wine columnist and blogger for the Calgary Herald. When she's not drinking wine, she's probably drinking coffee. Her favourite wine? Whatever's currently in her glass.
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