“The weather has been amazing for grapes this year. Although tough for the lawn and garden, grapevines thrive in dry weather, providing smaller, more intense berries for producing exceptional Icewine. So far the best season I have seen in Niagara. December is still a long way off, but I am looking forward to netting this superior vintage and waiting for frost.”

So December has passed.  The holidays have come and gone.  January is virtually over and no Icewine to date.  You could say I was touch nervous.  But then, as it is inevitable in Southern Ontario, mother-nature comes through again.  With a dip in temperature to -8°C, I eagerly suit up with winter provisions, hop in my truck and head out the vineyard.  As I make the short trip, the temperature quickly drops to -10°C, which is ideal for picking and pressing our Icewine grapes.  As I arrive at the vineyard, I’m met by our vineyard manager and his crew of 30, waiting in anticipation for the go ahead.  We look at the grapes together, give them a taste and make the call to start picking.  Harvest is back!

With our team picking through the night and into the early morning, the grapes, frozen solid, begin to turn up at the winery and are quickly loaded into the press.  We stand around the press, waiting for the thick, concentrated juice to flow into the juice tray.  Slowly, the juice begins to flow and my mind begins to reel in excitement, thinking of the great potential that this Icewine harvest has given us.

A few weeks after finishing our table wine harvest, I always feel a little bit down. We had a spectacular summer for the grapes to grow. The fall harvest quite lengthy, allowing extended hang time for some of our red varieties. But now the wines have finished fermenting…it felt all too quick.

That’s where the incredible climate of Ontario fits in. For most northern hemisphere regions around the world, harvest is over and winemakers typically have to wait another year before that adrenalin rush hits again. For us lucky few, there are a few grapes still hanging out there, netted for there own protection, just waiting for the clouds to clear and the temperature to drop. Suddenly harvest is back.

This year, like all years, I await those cold nights, eagerly watching the weather report. Some may call it an obsession, I think of it as being “well informed”…call it what you like. Just driving by our vineyards make me excited, not only the thought of picking grapes again, but to see what the growing season will give us. I’m always amazed when I think of how long these grapes have held on the vine… almost 6 months!

I’m looking forward to this Icewine harvest, but until the conditions are right, I’ll just have to wait…but its worth it, every last drop.