This is a crazy, crazy wine, but it really works. It’s a sparkling ice wine.
Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Ice Wine 2006 Niagara Peninsula, Canada
9% alcohol. Made like an ice wine, with grapes picked at -10 C, this is a bit different: it’s gently sparkling. Gold/bronze in colour, with residual sugar of 230 g/litre, it’s viscous and sweet with lovely nectarine and apricot fruit, with a bit of honey, too. Luscious, complex and viscous, the high acidity and sparkle add a nice counter to the intense sweetness. It’s very expensive, but it’s remarkable and quite fine. 94/100 (£45 Ocado.com, Waitrose wine direct)
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2 Comments on A sparkling ice wine – remarkable!
How do they get it to sparkle? I would have thought the r/s content would mean the wine is too viscous to hold a proper fizz. Is the old pompe-bicyclette at work here?
You are probably right but does it really matter? Look out for Canada they are expanding vineyards at a pace and they have climate. terroir and the area to be a significant wine producer. Spent some time exploring recently and they have top drawer Rieslings and Cabernet Franc. Ontario is on the same latitude as Burgundy and I expect these to be on the shelves of smart independants and ultimately the supermarkets.