Background
The way Eiswein is made is simply extraordinary, something completely unique in the world of wine. Grapes--most often Riesling grapes--are left on the vine until the first frost hits. In the press house, they are pressed ever so gently as winemakers try to squeeze whatever honeyed drops out of them they can, without crushing the ice crystals that have formed. The secret of Eiswein is that nature has frozen most of the water in the grapes, and the winemaker crushes the grapes gently so as to leave the water behind! As one of the world’s truly great dessert wines, the best examples are very rich and sweet, but shot through with the most searing acidity you've ever experienced; the balance will take your breath away. On top of that, the aromas and flavors should be on the far side of divine: some Platonic version of peaches, nectarines, apricots, mangoes. The wine is stunning in youth, when those fruity qualities are most apparent, and stunning in age when the fruit has morphed into jam and honey and caramel.

Shopper’s Tips

• Germany leads the league in the production of great Eiswein. But for a few dollars less--maybe only $50 or so for half a bottle--you can purchase a great New World version of Eiswein from, believe it or not, in Canada. Southern Ontario has become a hotbed of Ice Wine (as they call it) production, and the wines from the Inniskillin winery have been winning gold medals around the world for some time now. They are, perhaps, not quite as complex as Germany's best, but they are incredibly good.

• If you’d like to spend even less, you may be interested in the efforts of one Randall Graham, the brilliant clown prince of California wine at the Bonny Doon winery. Ice Wine has to freeze on the vine, of course--but some years ago Randall started chucking grapes in the freezer, then crushing them in the classic German fashion. The results were excellent, and you can still buy a half-bottle of Bonny Doon's ice-like wine for only $20 or so. It is a good, preliminary sketch of what Eiswein can be, and well worth the buckage.

-David Rosengarten