A winemaker in southern Germany has succeeded in producing a small, but precious, quantity of ice wine after an unseasonably mild winter ruined the rest of the country's harvest.
Edward Baran reports.
A winemaker in southern Germany has succeeded in producing a small quantity of ice wine, after an unseasonably mild winter ruined the rest of the country's harvest.
The winemaker, near Stuttgart, harvested Riesling ice wine grapes at minus 8 degrees Celsius in January.
They'd frozen on the vine for hours, and they produced around 100 liters of intensely sweet golden liquid.
After Germany's second-warmest winter on record, Jens Zimmerle got lucky -- he was the only producer here to manage any sort of harvest, and it's the latest in a worsening weather trend for makers.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) WINEMAKER, JENS ZIMMERLE, SAYING: "What's special about ice wine is that certain conditions must exist in order to press it: one is a minimum temperature of minus 7 degrees Celsius." The winemakers press the frozen grapes before they thaw, meaning only a small amount of highly-concentrated wine is produced.
The shortage of ice wine this year means it'll fetch an even higher price than usual.
Prices for a bottle in Germany range from around 20 euros to several hundred euros.
The sweet crop needs a very specific set of weather conditions that are becoming harder to come by as climate change continues.