Eiswein

I usually stay away from dessert wines because they are so overly sweet, but I indulged in a German Eiswein last week and it was very delicious and refreshing.

I've longed to try an Icewine since I was in Nova Scotia a few years ago. They're ridiculously expensive, though, so I've avoided them. Then I found Heinz Eifel Eiswein for only $15, so I decided to give it a whirl. It was quite nice.

Icewine (Canadian) or Eiswein (Germany) is made from grapes that have frozen on the vine. It's a relatively small harvest and very labor-intensive to produce the wine, hence the hefty price tag. Anyone else a fan?

Cant say i have had it Babe, but i will keep an eye out for it in future!

I'm a big fan of "natural" dessert wines like Eiswein, the German Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen, the Hungarian Tokaji Aszu, and the various California "late harvest" wines. They're all made with overripe grapes--either because the water in the grapes was frozen and removed (leaving a concentrated berry), or because they were attacked by the botrytis cinerea mold, which makes tiny pinholes in the grape skin and lets the water evaporate, leaving an even more concentrated berry.

SB, you can find a selection of late harvest wines at very reasonable prices at Trader Joe's.

Unfortunately, TB, our Trader Joe's can't sell wine, thanks to some stupid liquor laws, but thanks for the feedback. I've been to Bottle King in NJ, though, and they have an excellent wine selection.

Thanks for the feedback.

Bottle King?

Great name for a booze shop. My local booze shop is called Booze Buster. Now that is classy eh?

Have not had Eiswein for years, but agreed it is a great desert wine. I am also
a fan of Sauternes, but now as a desert wine but instead as a foil for a foie gras appetizer.

I did a lot of my wine shopping at Bottle King when we lived in NJ--excellent selection, and great prices if you had one of their preferred customer cards. Bought the rest at Trader Joe's, although as you said, SB, not all their stores had wine and beer licenses. People in this part of AZ practically pray for TJ to open a store here. Everytime we're in the Phoenix area, we stock up at TJ's.


Yes, Sauternes and Barsac are very rich and go perfectly with foie gras, but they're awfully expensive. They're only made in "special" vintages--staying on top of the supply/demand curve.