Once the extreme temperatures arrive, which is often in the dead of night, the harvest of the naturally frozen clusters begins. The precious grapes are then pressed in the extreme cold to extract the luscious nectar. In this process, the water content in each grape which is about 80% remains frozen as ice crystals.

These crystals will remain inside the grape during pressing puncturing the skin for added flavours. The resulting juice is highly concentrated and rich. Icewine yields are a mere 10-15% of an average table wine harvest. Slowly fermented over the coming months, this delicate nectar will eventually become Icewine.

The red berry characteristics of the vinifera grape Cabernet Franc translate as an Icewine into strawberry like aromas and flavours. This Icewine is completely different from the white Icewines. The colour comes from pressing only as there is no skin contact during fermentation. The earlier it is harvested, the darker the colour and the deeper the flavours. It is recommended to serve in chill and have food pairing with Dark chocolate, chocolate mousse with stewed or fresh berries.

Vintage 2022