Heron Hill's German-style ice wine

Wines & Vines, March, 2005 by Rae Burchfiel

In Europe, especially Germany, it is traditional to give a bottle of ice wine to a newborn so the wine can be opened for the child's wedding. Laszlo expects his ice wine to age as well as the ones made in Germany.

"It's a matter of pH," he said. "In Ontario, their soils generally have a high pH (6.5-7.5) and high fertility, so their ice wines will not age as well. Heron Hill's soils have a low pH (5 or lower) and low fertility."

This year, Heron Hill's ice wine will be made from the Ingle vineyard on Canandaigua Lake. Last year it was made from Heron Hill's estate vineyard on nearby Keuka Lake. The method will be the same, so Ingle and Laszlo want to find out if the differences in the soils will make detectable differences in the wines. Of course, the weather will be the wild card.

RELATED ARTICLE: Thomas Laszlo's Ice Wine Recipe

1. At pressing, add sulfur at 50 ppm to get rid of native yeasts, Leave overnight (24-36 hours) to warm up. Use small (50-200 gallon) tanks.

2. When must is 50[degrees]F, add casein at 40-70 g/hl to remove polyphenols and enzymes, like lactase. Let sit one hour.

3. Add active carbon at 40-70 g/hl to keep color from browning to caramel or honey hues, and to remove unwanted aromas such as mold. It acts instantly. "You must do this on the must. If you do this on the wine then you will strip it and wreck it." He likes his ice wine to be totally clean.

4. Immediately, add 100% calcium-based granular bentonite at 100-150 ppm to compact fining agents and lees. Keep at 50[degrees]F. Settle for 48 hours minimum. (He doesn't have a centrifuge.)

5. Rack and warm quickly to 68-70[degrees]F. Wine will have a gray tint from the bound carbon, which will come out in second filtration in March.

6. Inoculate with Saccromyeces bayanus at 25 g/hl. This yeast is neutral, not a flavor enhancer, so the wine will maintain the integrity of the flavors of the varietal, the mineral characteristics of the vineyard and the signature of the vintage. This yeast is also sugar tolerant. He warns, "Pay attention, because this yeast is fast and hard to stop, so you can go beyond your desired alcohol level."

7. Ferment at 70-74[degrees]F. It will be a quick and vigorous fermentation. In four days, the alcohol is usually at 75% of his desired level; if fermentation goes more than 10 days, he gets nervous.

8. Rack often until one-half of the alcohol is attained. "The wine needs lots of air in the early stage of fermentation," he says.

9. Taste for sugar and acid balance. Using a hydrometer, you can determine the approximate sugar, so you can calculate the approximate alcohol by using the sugar level at harvest and the current sugar level. The goal is between 9-11% alcohol, but at least 7.5% alcohol.

10. Shock-chill wine to take it from about 74[degrees]F to about 28[degrees]F to stop fermentation. Use one of four methods:

* Place the wine outside in an enclosed area if the days are 25[degrees]F and the nights are 20[degrees]F. Chill for at least 24 hours.

* Place it in a walk-in freezer at 10-15[degrees]F.