In Saxony, the prospects for ice wine are poor this season. However, unlike in other years, this is not due to a lack of frost, but to the poor harvest: the large wineries have simply not left any grapes for the specialty, as a survey of various wineries revealed. Frost in spring had severely reduced the 2024 yields.
"It is indeed the case that we were only able to harvest 25 percent of a normal wine year," said Martin Junge, spokesman for the Schloss Wackerbarth state winery. "Our focus was exclusively on quality wines - we tried to get every grape into the cellar." No grapes for the ice wine were therefore left on the vines.
Risk too high this time
The situation is similar at Saxony's largest private winery, Schloss Proschwitz. "No grapes were left standing due to the low harvest volumes that were expected," reported an employee. The last time frozen grapes were harvested for ice wine at the historic terraced vineyard in Seusslitz near Meißen was in 2022.
A spokesperson for Saxony's largest wine producer, the Winzergenossenschaft Meißen, also reported that no grapes were held back. The yields in autumn were so low that the risk of relying on ice wine would not have been feasible.
Rare rarity for wine lovers
Ice wine is considered a rarity by wine connoisseurs. Cold temperatures of at least minus seven degrees are the basic requirement for its production. The frozen grapes are harvested and pressed immediately. The result is a high-quality, noble sweet wine.
Ice wines generally have a high residual sugar content of significantly more than 100 grams per liter. Unlike southern sweet wines, however, they have comparatively little alcohol, often around seven percent by volume.
An ice wine harvest must take place by February 28 of the respective harvest year. According to wine law, no more grapes may be used for ice wine production after this date, even if the temperatures are still suitable.
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