I’m still recovering from sleep deprived trip out West, but want to post a quick wine deal before the Hallmark Valentine holiday.
Bonny Doon’s Muscat Vin Glaciere is a dessert wine made (in the style of Ice wine) by a producer I have spoken of before and think highly of. This dessert wine comes in a somewhat typical half bottle (375ml).
These sweet wines are generally made by extracting the sweet nectar of the fruit and not the water. This is accomplished in two ways. Either the grapes are left to dry somewhat which causes the water to evaporate. Or, as is done in the case of ice wine, the grapes are frozen so that when they are pressed the water in the grape remains slushy while the purer fruit nectar is squeezed out for a richer & more concentrated juice. Since the fruit is not watered down by the natural water in the grape it is much sweeter. This sweeter juice is then partially fermented, with some of the (residual) sugar allowed to remain in the “must” (fermenting liquid) – leading to its residual sweetness. The better (balanced) ice wines have enough acidity so that the wine does not taste too sweet, thick or “flabby”.
The Bonny Doon Muscat Vin Glaciere is found here for $14.99. While there are several other online retailers offering the wine for the same $15, it is also sold for $16, $18, $20 and as much as $25 for the half bottle. So $15 seems to be a pretty good deal.
A final tip – serve your ice wine chilled with the dessert of your choice. The sweetness in the wine pairs beautifully with fruit, pie, chocolate, ice cream, etc…
Enjoy!
WTG
