Inniskillin

We tasted this wine the same night as the Chateau d'Yquem but we learned so much about ice wine that I thought it deserved a post of its own.

Let's talk about ice wine!
Brief history: ice wine is a dessert wine that originated during the Roman times but was forgotten. It was rediscovered in the late 1700's and produced in Austria and Germany.

In the 1980's Karl Kaiser created the winery Inniskillin and started making ice wine in Canada. His first crop in 1983 was eaten by birds but in 1984, Kaiser used nets to protect Inniskillin's grapes and was able to produce the winery's first ice wine. By 1989 his ice wine using vidal grapes won the Grand Prix d'Honneur at Vinexpo.

Ice wine must follow strict guidelines:
*grapes are left on the vine to freeze - which means they're ripe and have been on the vine for months past the regular harvest.
*grapes must reach hard freeze (17° F or colder) for three consecutive days.
*grapes must be harvested while frozen - which means harvesting in the middle of the frozen winter night.
*cannot be refrozen once they are off the vine - so must be pressed immediately. Squeezing frozen grapes yields about 1/25th a regular harvest (another reason for the expensive price).

And now to the tasting!





Inniskillin 2006 Vidal
The aromatics hit you in the face. 9% alcohol. Nose: lychee , rust, honey, smells really sweet. Tastes: acidity, mandarin oranges. Makes you want more.

Inniskillin 2006 Riesling
Acidic and sweet at the same time. Ideal example of a Riesling. Smooth and round, coats the mouth. Perfectly balanced.

Inniskillin 2004 Oak Aged Vidal
Only available at the winery. The oak adds vanilla and caramel. It's a little effervescent, it dances on the palate. Light on the tongue, forward mouth feel. Complex. Leaves you wanting more.

Thank you, Kebra for bringing the wine and for the education. It was such a rare treat!