To choose a high-quality authentic ice wine, you first need to have a correct understanding and clear judgment of the information on the packaging.
Origin: Ice wine at first glance
For the choice of ice wine, the first step to understand is its place of origin. The traditional ice wine producing area in the world is Deutsche and Austria. regions and Canada, China has also begun the production of ice wine in recent years. Due to its late start, the price of Chinese ice wine is relatively low, and its taste is quite different from that of foreign ice wine. Currently in the Chinese market, the most orthodox imported ice wine must be produced in Germany or Canada. As the birthplace of ice wine, Germany has a long history. However, due to geographical restrictions and industrial development, the output of real high-end ice wine in Germany is relatively low, and genuine products are even rarer in the Chinese market. At present, the best ice wine producing country in the world belongs to Canada. The unique climate and vast fertile land make the ice wine produced in Canada become a world-renowned wine. Because of its quality and reputation, Canadian ice wine has been recognized around the world, and has also become the target of counterfeiting by many unscrupulous operators. Genuine Canadian ice wine has strict certification standards, and its authenticity can be judged by looking at the information on the packaging and bottles.
Certification: The guarantee of good ice wine. Since ice wine has become Canada’s national wine, Canada itself has also applied for a patent for the ice wine label. Canadian genuine ice wine bottles are marked with the “Icewine” logo and 7 letters are required. If they are connected together and written separately as "Ice Wine" or "Snow Wine", etc., they are all fake ice wine; in addition, ice wine must be made from 100% grapes, without water, and no other fruits or substances will be added. Therefore, if there is a special ice wine labeled "Apple Ice Wine", "Maple Leaf Ice Wine", etc., it must be a fake.
Another important mark that proves authentic Canadian ice wine is VQA. In Canada, VQA is a certification of the place of origin and a certification of standards. All ice wines with VQA labels are produced in the regions in Canada that are most suitable for ice wine production. As the most stringent standard in the ice wine industry in the world, VQA requires that grapes must come from the place of origin and be naturally frozen for at least 48 hours before picking. At the same time, the alcohol content is required to be at least 7.5%, but not more than 14.9%; the minimum sweetness per liter is 125 grams. If any Canadian vintner is found to be using artificial cold method to quickly freeze grapes, the Canadian Vintners Alliance will take measures to ban them and relegate them to the production of table wine. Therefore, it must have a VQA logo to prove that this ice wine is of high quality.
Winery: A necessary label for high-end ice wine. If you have higher requirements for taste and quality, you need to choose products from well-known wineries. As the world's best ice wine producing area, Ontario, Canada has gathered more than 70 of the best ice wine producing estates in the world. Among them, Niagara-on-the-Lake is the most famous and ranks among the top in Canada. All the ice wine wineries are gathered here, including Pillitteri Winery, which produces and sells the largest ice wine.
Ice wine is a miraculous creation of heaven and earth. It is a unique nectar and precious delicacy. A good bottle of ice wine brings not only taste enjoyment to the taster, but also unforgettable sweet memories.