House of Hafner Icewine Welschriesling

Icewine (Eiswein) has to be clearly distinguished from other noble sweet wine products regarding the production method. With 25 % sugar content in the pressed must it is equal to Beerenauslese (BA) but whilst all noble sweet wines contain more or less Botrytis and are produced from shrivelled grapes, the Icewine is made from harvesting “healthy” grapes but in a frozen state. By pressing frozen grapes immediately, the frozen water is separated from the juice (must) as Ice crystals, so the high sugar concentration can be reached. (Would the same grapes not be frozen, the separated Ice would be within the must as water and the concentration would be less.) The fine balance between sweetness and acidity is the basis of the typical character of an Icewine. An essential element of a classic Icewine is a certain racy, fiery trait based on a sufficient structure of acidity. The notable difference between Icewine and traditional dessert wines is, that Icewine, produced by an expert, presents a fine fruitness from the bouquet to the end of the tasting because of the total or partial absence of noble rot (Botrytis). The typical characteristics of the grape variety should be noticeable.