It is obvious that the primary requirement to make ice wine and it's spinoff product, ice wine vinegar is that cold temperatures are needed. What's not clear to most is that in order to harvest the grapes for Minus 8 Ice Wine Vinegar, certain qualifying standards must be met. For instance, Canada is more suited to producing ice wine than France. In Ontario, weather conditions in the Niagara peninsula are more suited to freezing temperatures. Geographically, the Minus 8 vineyard is located in the Niagara Region, which is dubbed "the banana belt" because of its prolific agricultural production. This is a naturally cool climate region for grape growing. Yet only when nature creates the required conditions and harvest standards are met in a timely fashion can a successful vintage be made. Ice wine must be produced exclusively from grapes that have been harvested, naturally frozen on the vine, and pressed in a continuous process while the air temperature is -8 Celsius. This actually means that the winemaker must actually wait for the temperature to drop to -9C and actually hold in that range and then a rush is on to cull and press the grapes. Timing is everything. If freezes come too late, the grapes may be dehydrated. It is the delicacy of this process and how the grapes are handled that yields a successful vintage and is what sets Minus 8 apart.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Minus 8 Vinegar - Not Just Another....
It is obvious that the primary requirement to make ice wine and it's spinoff product, ice wine vinegar is that cold temperatures are needed. What's not clear to most is that in order to harvest the grapes for Minus 8 Ice Wine Vinegar, certain qualifying standards must be met. For instance, Canada is more suited to producing ice wine than France. In Ontario, weather conditions in the Niagara peninsula are more suited to freezing temperatures. Geographically, the Minus 8 vineyard is located in the Niagara Region, which is dubbed "the banana belt" because of its prolific agricultural production. This is a naturally cool climate region for grape growing. Yet only when nature creates the required conditions and harvest standards are met in a timely fashion can a successful vintage be made. Ice wine must be produced exclusively from grapes that have been harvested, naturally frozen on the vine, and pressed in a continuous process while the air temperature is -8 Celsius. This actually means that the winemaker must actually wait for the temperature to drop to -9C and actually hold in that range and then a rush is on to cull and press the grapes. Timing is everything. If freezes come too late, the grapes may be dehydrated. It is the delicacy of this process and how the grapes are handled that yields a successful vintage and is what sets Minus 8 apart.
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