The recent cold snap may have been harsh for residents, but icewine makers in the Okanagan are celebrating the negative temperatures.

Grapes that are picked for icewine must be frozen before coming off the vines and once the ideal subzero temperature sets in, crews have mere hours to harvest the fruit.

Producing icewine is delicate and risky, and keeping the grapes from defrosting is one of the main concerns, according to Grizzli WineryB次元官网网址檚 sales coordinator Breanna Nathorst.

B次元官网网址淚t has to be -8 C minimum but we like to wait until about -10 C because you get more concentrated fruit flavours when you wait a little bit longer,B次元官网网址� Nathorst said.

Once crews harvest the grapes, theyB次元官网网址檙e kept outside in large bins. Then the fruit is pressed outdoors in movable presses which are moved to a location that has coldest temperatures.

Nathorst added one bottle of white icewine has approximately 30 to 35 pounds of grapes, and a bottle of red icewine has about 50 to 55 pounds.

B次元官网网址淲hite icewines are more common and red icewines are a lot more rare, which is why theyB次元官网网址檙e also more expensive,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭he reason for that is because youB次元官网网址檙e getting a lot more flavour in there, and theyB次元官网网址檙e riskier to produce because we wait until itB次元官网网址檚 -14 C before we pick the grapes.B次元官网网址�

In general, Nathorst said icewine is riskier and takes a bit longer to produce.

B次元官网网址淔or table wine, we harvest them in the fall. ThatB次元官网网址檚 when you see the vineyards full and beautiful and itB次元官网网址檚 usually in October that we harvest the grapes. It takes about 10 to 12 pounds of table grapes to make a 715 millilitre of wine.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲ith icewine, weB次元官网网址檙e monitoring the temperature, making sure itB次元官网网址檚 cold enough. And if the temperature goes warmer than the minimum -8 C, you could lose your crop. If they do thaw, thatB次元官网网址檇 be a late harvest wine. ItB次元官网网址檇 be a sweeter wine, but itB次元官网网址檚 not icewine.B次元官网网址�

Andrea Sorestad leads tours at Grizzli Winery and she said once the juice is extracted from the grapes, itB次元官网网址檚 all moved into fermentation tanks.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 when the yeast is added, and that process takes four to six weeks,B次元官网网址� Sorestad said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very long and slow, and thatB次元官网网址檚 because the icewine is super concentrated with sugars and itB次元官网网址檚 hard to break down so it takes a while.B次元官网网址�

She added that fermenting table wine only takes about ten to 12 days.

Grizzli Winery will be hosting its first annual icewine festival to celebrate wine and of course, icewine. The festival also coincides with the Lunar New Year.

There will be an outdoor fire, Chinese calligraphers and a chance to taste the wineryB次元官网网址檚 award-winning icewines.

For more information and tickets, visit Grizzli WineryB次元官网网址檚 .

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