Ice Wine: How Icewine and Eiswein Are Made and Served

Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine made from grapes that freeze naturally on the vine. Growers leave ripe grapes hanging into winter, pick them frozen on a bitterly cold night and press them while still frozen. Most of the water stays behind as ice, so only a few drops of intensely sweet juice come out. Canada sells it as Icewine and Germany as Eiswein; both have strict rules, which is why a small bottle costs so much. Here is how it’s made, what the labels mean and how to serve it.

How ice wine is made

Wine Country Ontario, the marketing body for Ontario wine, describes the process in its Icewine brochure:

1. Netting. In autumn the vines are covered with nets to keep birds off the grapes.
2. Waiting for the freeze. The grapes stay on the vine until a sustained temperature of -8°C (17.6°F) or lower arrives, typically between December and February. Meanwhile they lose water, and their sugar and flavor concentrate.
3. Picking. Growers look for temperatures between -10°C and -12°C, which give juice of 35 to 39 degrees Brix (a measure of sugar). Harvesting and pressing take at least six hours, usually at night, by hand or by machine.
4. Pressing. Because most of each grape is frozen water, the ice stays in the press and only a small amount of concentrated juice is extracted.
5. Fermenting. The juice is so sweet that yeasts struggle, so fermentation stops early, leaving relatively low alcohol and high sugar.

Wines of Germany, the German wine institute’s site, explains the same principle for Eiswein: freezing removes water, which stays in the press, while the sugar-rich juice drips out, and fresh acidity keeps the sweetness from being overpowering.

Canadian Icewine: the VQA rules

In Ontario, which Wine Country Ontario says makes over 90% of Canada’s Icewine, the rules are written into law: Ontario Regulation 406/00 under the Vintners Quality Alliance Act. VQA is Canada’s wine-of-origin system, and Wine Country Ontario says no wine may use the term Icewine on its label unless VQA has certified it. The regulation (current to October 2026) requires:

Rule	Ontario VQA Icewine
Freezing	Grapes naturally frozen on the vine
Harvest temperature	Picked while the air is -8°C (17.6°F) or lower
Pressing	Immediately after picking, in a continuous process
Grapes	Vitis vinifera varieties on the approved list, or the hybrid Vidal
Sugar in the juice	At least 32° Brix after each pressing; an average of at least 35° Brix
Residual sugar	At least 100 grams per liter, from the grapes’ own sugar only
Alcohol	7.0% to 14.9%, from the grapes’ own sugar only
Not allowed	Freeze concentration of juice, must or wine

The regulation does allow picked grapes, juice or must to be refrigerated to no colder than -4°C, but the freezing that makes the wine has to happen on the vine. Ontario also allows Sparkling Icewine, which must meet the rules for both Icewine and sparkling wine.

German Eiswein

Germany’s rules start from the same idea. Wines of Germany says German federal law requires the grapes to be harvested at -7°C (19.4°F) or colder, and that the grapes must be frozen through, which takes at least that temperature for several hours. The frozen, overripe grapes are then pressed.

• Must weight: Wikipedia says Eiswein needs the same minimum must weight as Beerenauslese, 110 to 128 degrees Oechsle depending on the region.
• Sugar and alcohol: Wines of Germany says Eisweins have over 100 grams of sugar per liter but typically only about 7% alcohol.
• History: Wikipedia dates the first known Eiswein to Franconia in 1794. It was rare until the 1960s.

A cold enough night doesn’t come every year, as Wikipedia points out. In a December 2024 report, Wines of Germany described Franconian wineries picking in the early hours of 28 December, below -7°C, and called the wines “a rarity and specialty”.

Ice wine in the US

Under ATF Ruling 2002-7, still published by the TTB (the federal agency that regulates wine labels), wine made from grapes frozen after harvest may not use the term “ice wine” or any variation of it. If such a wine suggests it was made from frozen grapes, the label must add a phrase such as “made from grapes frozen post-harvest”. Wikipedia calls these artificially frozen wines “icebox wines”. In our view, that phrase on a back label is worth looking for: it tells you the wine is a cheaper, freezer-made cousin, not true ice wine.

The grapes

Wine Country Ontario names Vidal Blanc, Riesling and Cabernet Franc as the most common Icewine grapes, with small lots of Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grape	What to expect
Vidal	A hybrid grape, first on Wine Country Ontario’s list; the brochure names tropical fruit, peach and honey among Icewine’s typical aromas
Riesling	Used for both Icewine and Eiswein; Wikipedia notes German Riesling icewines can be as low as 6% alcohol. Our Riesling guide covers the grape
Cabernet Franc	The best-known red Icewine; Wikipedia notes that red-grape icewines tend toward pink or light red, with strawberry among the aromas Wine Country Ontario lists

Wine Folly lists pineapple, lemon curd, honeysuckle, apricot and lychee as typical flavors, with medium-high acidity and no tannin.

Note: Vidal is a hybrid grape, not a vitis vinifera variety. Ontario normally requires vinifera grapes for VQA area wines, but the regulation makes an exception for Vidal used in Icewine.

Why ice wine is expensive

• Very little juice. Wine Country Ontario says about 10 Icewine grapes are needed to make 1 ml of Icewine, compared with 1.5 grapes for 1 ml of table wine, and that juice yields are only about 15% of what grapes harvested for table wine give.
• A risky wait. Wikipedia points out that the frost may never come, and fruit left hanging can rot or be eaten by birds and animals.
• A rushed, cold harvest. The whole crop must be picked within hours on the first cold enough night, often by hand.
• Slow fermentation. High sugar makes fermentation difficult, and Wikipedia says it can take months.
• Small bottles. Ice wine is commonly sold in 375 ml half bottles, half the size of a standard bottle. See our guide to wine bottle sizes for what that holds.

We’d think of a half bottle of ice wine as a dessert for six to eight people rather than a bottle for two: Wine Country Ontario suggests about 1.5 ounces per person.

How to serve ice wine

	Advice
Temperature	Wine Folly: 45–55°F (7–12°C). Wine Country Ontario: 15 minutes in an ice bucket or two hours in the fridge
Glass	Wine Country Ontario: a traditional white wine glass; Wine Folly: a dessert glass
Pour	About 1.5 ounces per person (Wine Country Ontario)
Decanting	Not needed (Wine Folly)
Cellaring	About 3 to 5 years (Wine Folly)
After opening	Several weeks, sealed, in the fridge (Wine Country Ontario)

If you want small glasses for dessert wines, our guide to the best Port glasses covers sizes that work for any sweet wine. For opened bottles of everything else, see how long wine lasts after opening.

Food pairing

Ice wine’s sugar is matched by acidity, which lets it work with more than dessert:

• Desserts: Wine Folly suggests fruit-based desserts, cheesecake and ice cream. Our pick is a fruit tart, which echoes the wine’s fruit without being sweeter than it.
• Cheese: Wine Folly pairs it with soft cheeses such as Brie and pungent ones such as Stilton; Wine Country Ontario adds aged blue cheeses.
• Rich savory food: Wine Country Ontario calls it a perfect match for foie gras, and says it also suits spicy and savory dishes.
• Chocolate: Wine Country Ontario lists dark chocolate; we’d choose a red Cabernet Franc Icewine with it.

We’d keep the dessert a little less sweet than the wine.

Good-value bottles

We don’t name specific ice wines yet. Our value picks follow our rating method, with a published critic score and a US price checked at two or more stores, and we haven’t completed that check for an ice wine. When you shop, look for “Icewine” with the VQA mark on Canadian bottles, or “Eiswein” on German ones, and avoid labels that mention grapes frozen post-harvest if you want the real thing.

Wine is for adults of legal drinking age (21 in the US). Please drink responsibly.