Eiswein: Naturally Frozen Grape Wine

Eiswein is one of the six German Prädikat terms, alongside Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, and under WeinG § 20 a German wine may carry it only once the Prädikat has been awarded with an official test number. For Eiswein, the same section of the law requires that the grapes used be frozen at harvest and at pressing. Eiswein is made from grapes as ripe as Beerenauslese, harvested at a minimum of -7°C and pressed while frozen so that only the fruit concentrate is squeezed out. A 1982 amendment to the German Wine Law raised Eiswein to an independent Prädikat level and set a minimum must weight at least equal to that of a Beerenauslese, 110 to 128° Oechsle depending on the growing region. Beerenauslese is usually made from berries infected by Botrytis cinerea, while a high-quality Eiswein does not show the flavour characteristics of noble rot and depends on healthy grapes.

• German law: the grapes must be frozen at harvest and at pressing; in Germany -7°C is the minimum for picking and -10 to -12°C is ideal
• Minimum must weight of 110 to 128° Oechsle depending on the growing region, at least that of a Beerenauslese
• Prädikat wines, Eiswein included, may not be enriched (chaptalised)
• Canada's VQA system (British Columbia and Ontario) sets a stricter -8°C harvest temperature and requires the pressed juice to average at least 35° Brix

The poet Martial wrote of growers bringing in frost-stiffened grapes in November, and Pliny the Elder described grape varieties that were not picked until it had frozen. In Germany, documented Eiswein dates to 1830, when winegrowers in Dromersheim near Bingen in Rheinhessen found by chance on 11 February that frozen grapes gave a wonderfully sweet must. Schloss Johannisberg, known for the invention of Spätlese, made its first Eiswein in 1858. Wrapping Eiswein plots in foil, mainly to protect the grapes from birds, was first used in the 1960s. Systematic Austrian Eiswein production dates to 1971, when Julius Hafner II of Mönchhof carried out Austria's first Eiswein harvest, and Canada took up Eiswein in 1975, largely through German and Austrian emigrants. At Inniskillin in Niagara, the first Icewine attempt in 1983 was lost to birds, and netting protected the crop from 1984 onward.

• 1830: first documented German Eiswein, Dromersheim near Bingen, Rheinhessen
• 1858: Schloss Johannisberg's first Eiswein
• 1971: Julius Hafner II of Mönchhof carries out Austria's first Eiswein harvest
• 1982: Eiswein becomes an independent Prädikat through an amendment to the German Wine Law
• 2000: Austria, Germany and Canada sign an agreement for the natural method and against cryoextraction; in 2001 Canadian Icewine was protected under that name on the EU market

Eiswein is a gamble: the grapes hang on the vine longer than usual and wait for at least -7°C, until January and in rare cases February. Growers register vineyard plots for potential Eiswein harvest in advance and then leave fully ripe grapes on the vine into late autumn or winter, accepting the risk of total crop loss to rot, birds, or an insufficient freeze. In Rhineland-Palatinate, growers who intend to make Eiswein have had to register the plot, parcel, area and grape variety with the Landwirtschaftskammer by 15 November of the harvest year since 2013; British Columbia requires wineries to register their intention before the annual harvest begins, and Austria requires notice the day before picking. When temperatures drop to -7°C or below in Germany (or -8°C in Canada), harvesters pick the frozen clusters, in Germany in the early morning hours in the great majority of cases. The frozen grapes are pressed immediately, leaving ice crystals behind in the press while concentrated, intensely sweet juice flows out. The resulting must is so sugar-rich that fermentation is slow and difficult, often yielding a finished wine of only around 7% alcohol by volume.

• Sustained temperatures of -7°C or colder for several hours are required; a brief dip is not sufficient to fully freeze the berries
• The bottled Eiswein averages about 5 to 10% of the original crop; in Austria the long-term average is about 10%
• In Germany the Eiswein harvest takes place in the early morning hours in the great majority of cases; in Austria it is mostly at night or in the early morning
• Ontario's O. Reg. 406/00 requires the grapes to be picked at -8°C or lower and pressed immediately in a continuous process, and bans freeze concentration of juice, must or wine
• Once the grapes are fully ripe, Eiswein plots are partly defoliated and wrapped in foil, mainly as protection against birds

Austria and Germany were long the only countries producing Eiswein; Canada took up the style in 1975 and, in the BMLUK's account, became the world's largest Eiswein producer over time. In November 2025, Eiswein was harvested in German regions including Rheinhessen, Franken, Sachsen, the Pfalz, the Hessische Bergstraße, Württemberg and the Mosel, with Riesling, Silvaner and the newer variety Souvignier Gris picked. In Rhineland-Palatinate that year only 16.6 hectares were registered for Eiswein, the fewest in ten years, and 29 producers in Rheinhessen, the Pfalz and the Mosel pressed around 35,000 litres. In Austria, Eiswein is made mainly in northern Burgenland and in Lower Austria (Wagram, Weinviertel), chiefly from white varieties such as Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Traminer, Gelber Muskateller and Scheuerrebe, with red examples from St. Laurent, Zweigelt and Blauer Burgunder. In Ontario, VQA Ontario calls the hybrid Vidal the flagship grape for Icewine production.

• Germany: 2025 Eiswein harvests in regions including Rheinhessen, the Pfalz, Franken and the Mosel
• Rhineland-Palatinate 2025: 16.6 ha registered, 57% Silvaner, 20% Souvignier Gris and 17% Riesling
• Austria: mainly northern Burgenland and Lower Austria (Wagram, Weinviertel)
• Canada: Ontario and British Columbia regulate Icewine under VQA rules, permitting vitis vinifera varieties and Vidal
• Eiswein is becoming rarer as German winters grow warmer

Eiswein's hallmark is a dense concentration of berry extract with comparatively high acidity, the strong acidity forming a counterweight to the intense natural sweetness, and its aromas can recall peach, pineapple, pear, citrus fruit, mango, caramel and honey. Healthy grapes without botrytis give a fresh, concentrated fruity taste, and this is where Eiswein differs in flavour from Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. German Eiswein usually has natural residual sugar of well over 100 g/L and an alcohol content often of only about 7% by volume; Austrian Eiswein runs from 7 to 12.5%, because the yeast can ferment only part of the sugar. Ontario's rules set 7.0 to 14.9% actual alcohol and at least 100 g/L residual sugar for VQA Icewine.

• Aroma: can recall peach, pineapple, pear, citrus fruit, mango, caramel and honey
• Palate: Intense sweetness with well over 100 g/L residual sugar, kept in balance by fresh fruit acidity
• Alcohol: often only about 7% by volume in German Eiswein; 7 to 12.5% in Austria
• No noble-rot character: a high-quality Eiswein does not show the flavour characteristics of noble rot

Eiswein works as an aperitif and, following the rule that like goes with like, suits fruity desserts, ice cream or sorbets especially well. Ripe blue-veined cheese is another match, where the salty to slightly bitter notes of the creamy cheese meet the fruity, sweet aromas of the concentrated wine.

• Fruity desserts, ice cream and sorbets
• Ripe blue-veined cheese
• As an aperitif

Under WeinG § 20, German law defines Eiswein by the state of the grapes at harvest and pressing, frozen, while Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are defined by noble-rotten or overripe berries. Eiswein therefore shows concentration by freezing rather than by Botrytis, and it places German and Austrian Prädikat rules beside Canada's VQA regulations, which use a -8°C picking threshold and a must averaging at least 35° Brix. Warmer winters make the required temperature rarer, which makes Eiswein a direct case study in how climate shapes a wine style.

• Frost versus Botrytis: Beerenauslese uses noble-rotten or at least overripe berries and Trockenbeerenauslese largely shrivelled noble-rotten berries, while Eiswein grapes must be frozen
• Vintage variability: if it does not get cold enough, no Eiswein can be picked
• Became an independent Prädikat in 1982
• Canada: -8°C picking temperature and a must averaging at least 35° Brix

Primary sources (German federal wine law, Deutsches Weininstitut, Landwirtschaftskammer Rheinland-Pfalz, Austria's Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Ontario's VQA regulation, VQA Ontario, the BC Wine Authority, and Inniskillin for its own history): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/weing_1994/__20.html, https://www.deutscheweine.de/wein-probieren/418/eiswein, https://www.deutscheweine.de/news-medien/meldungen/meldung/1581/k%C3%A4lteeinbruch-erm%C3%B6glicht-fr%C3%BChe-eiswein-lese, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/449/pr%C3%A4dikat-categories, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/182/must-weights, https://www.lwk-rlp.de/weinbau/ernte/eiswein, https://www.bmluk.gv.at/themen/lebensmittel/trad-lebensmittel/getraenke/eiswein.html, https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/000406, https://bcvqa.ca/information/icewine/, https://vqaontario.ca/vqa-wine-program/wine-categories-and-labelling/, https://www.inniskillin.com/our-story/. Last verified 2026-10-05