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Only a few German wineries harvested ice wine grapes during the first frosty nights around 3 and 4 December. According to Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute (DWI), only five winegrowers in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate with six growing regions took advantage of the cold snap. In RRheinhessen Silvaner grapes were harvested by four wineries and in the Mosel by one winery Riesling. One winery in Franconia and two in Württemberg are known to have harvested. There, unlike in Rhineland-Palatinate, parcels for ice wine do not have to be registered in advance.
Due to the wet late summer, most winegrowers in Germany concentrated on bringing in healthy grapes for the main harvest and hardly risked leaving any hanging on the vines until the first frost. According to the Chamber of Agriculture, only 40 wineries in Rhineland-Palatinate have registered a total of 32 hectares for a possible ice wine harvest this year. In 2021, the figure was 107 hectares and in 2018 more than 500 hectares. To harvest ice wine, the temperature must be below minus seven degrees Celsius during harvesting and pressing so that the grapes can be pressed frozen.
(al / Source: Lebensmittelpraxis)