Decanter World Wine AwardsPenedes approves icewine
- Thursday 22 July 2010
- Comments (2)
The region of Penedès has accepted the new DO Vino Dulce de Hielo or Vi Dolç del Fred.
This is the first European appellation to allow artificial freezing of grapes. This is forbidden in the traditional icewine regions of Germany, Austria – and Canada - where grapes must be left to freeze naturally on the vine.
In Germany, the grapes must be exposed to a temperature of minus 7 degrees or colder before harvesting; in Canada the temperature must drop to minus 8 degrees.
In Penedes grapes are frozen in a cold room, refrigerator, or with dry ice. Freezing on the vines is allowed, but in practice seldom takes place. Sugar additions are forbidden.
The harvested grapes - Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Malvasia de Sitges, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Moscatel de Alejandría, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and/or Merlot – must have a minimum of 240 grams per litre of sugar.
The final wine must contain 70-150g/l residual sugar and an alcohol content of 9.5-13.5%. Currently there are no rules stipulating altitude or soil type.
To date only noted Cava producer Jaime Gramona has made Spanish ice wine, although winemakers in Rioja and Utiel-Requena have made experimental batches.
Gramona's 'Vi de Gel' has been made since 1997 with Riesling, Moscatel de Grano Menudo and Gewurztraminer as individual varietals, with occasional blending.
The new DO will apply from the 2009 vintage.
Have your say!
Erica Björklund Sattler
November 23 15:24
I can't agree more and recently I published an articel about this Spanish, so called, icewine at http://invinitum.wordpress.com.
But to answer your question: it is not allowed to label the wines as icewine, the allowed term is DO Vino Dulce de Hielo or DO Vi Dolç del Fred.
Matt Browman
September 20 16:55
Do the labelling regulations allow for the term Icewine (in Castilian/Catalan, even) to appear on the label?
This should absolutely be forbidden, as the whole purpose of having a designated style has to do with the climate/weather that allows the wine to be made. This would open up a Pandora's box of "legalized fraud", severely compromising the countries who are able to produce it. How about if Okanagan Valley Merlot could use "Pomerol" on their label?