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The 2019 vintage will go down in history in Germany as the first vintage in which the Eiswein harvest was cancelled. "Due to the mild winter, the minimum temperature of minus seven degrees Celsius required for an Eiswein harvest was not reached in any German wine-growing region. And the coming days also promise no more frosty nights," explained Ernst Büscher of the German Wine Institute (DWI).
The conditions for ice wine production have often been less than ideal in recent years, but it has still been possible to harvest frozen grapes for it. "The last time this was the case was in the 2017 vintage, of which, to our knowledge, only seven producers nationwide were able to harvest Eiswein, three in Württemberg, three in Saale-Unstrut and one - on 1 March 2018 - in Baden. Before that, the winter 2014/2015 was so mild that Eiswein from the 2014 vintage is also an absolute rarity. And of the 2013 vintage, we only know of five producers from Rhineland-Palatinate who have successfully harvested small quantities of Eiswein and three in Saale-Unstrut," says Büscher.
In recent years, the dates for a possible Eiswein harvest have increasingly been postponed until January and February, while at the same time the grapes tend to ripen earlier and earlier. As a result, the period that the grapes in a healthy condition must survive until a possible Eiswein harvest is becoming increasingly longer. In addition to the state of health of the grapes at the end of the harvest, the quantity harvested in a given vintage also influences the willingness of producers to leave grapes hanging for Icewine making. In years with low yields, many producers often do not take the risk of losing more grapes due to a possible failure to harvest Eiswein.
"If the warm winters become more frequent in the next few years, ice wines from the German wine regions should soon become an even more precious rarity than they already are," explained Büscher. After all, the average harvest of ice wine is usually only around 500 litres per hectare.
(uka / Photo: German Wine Institute)