W E L C O M E !

Welcome to the wine making blog. For many, wine making is a rewarding experience ... and on many levels. We will be providing articles and news on making wine at home, homemade wine and other things wine. I hope that you find something on this site which will help you with this facinating activity. Enjoy!

On This Blog

We have posted some summary articles about winemaking. I am still working out how to put things in the proper order ... but at least you will find the various parts below, and they ARE numbered.

Recipes for making wine at home will be posted shortly, along with some resources to help you make better wine. Please keep checking back!

Also, be sure to check out the books and information included in our winemaking resources section, and read the helpful reviews included there.


Ice Wine - The Rarest of Homemade Wine

Ice wine, what it is? This is a question which some may ask. They are one of the rarest forms of wine, produced especially in the Pacific Northwest region (and Germany). Now, you might ask why specifically in Pacific Northwest region? It is because of the apt weather that is required to prepare ice wine.

Because precise weather conditions are required for the production of ice wine, only very little quantities are produced. Why? Because it requires the best quality grapes, which are not abundently available. To tell you the truth, ice wine is not something which you can easily purchase, for two reasons:

a) Rare availability
b) Expensive

Ice wine is rare. Making it is even more rare. Possesing it is ..... well... even if you get the grapes, the weather must be just right to produce it. Only when all of these conditions are in place can ice wine be made.

What are the pre-requisites for preparing ice wine? High quality grapes that are ripened fully and 5 degree C temperature. It is necessary that the temperature be maintained at 5 degree C for a couple of days. At this temperature, the grapes will be frozen. These grapes are plucked in the night. This is a labor intensive process, and only small quantities are ever made.

So far, we can see how precious ice wine is, and the requirements to prepare ice wine. Let us now see the process of preparing ice wine. To get the juice from these grapes, they are pressed gently. Due to the extreme temperature, these juices will be frozen. These are fermented by adding sugar. This is how ice wine is prepared.

By reading this article, you might now undersand why ice wine is not sold in wine stores. Similarly, it is equally rare to find it online. Even if you were able to find it online, it will definitely cost you a fortune for one bottle.

If you really wish to taste this beautiful and exquisite wine, get hold of a wine maker in the region of the Pacific Northwest. You never know when the bottles will come, and as soon as they do, they will quickly  vanish. BepPrepared to reward the wine maker handsomely if you want to taste ice wine.