Facing sub-zero temperatures, students from Niagara College’s Teaching Winery fanned out in the darkness Tuesday morning to harvest Vidal and Cabernet Franc grapes from the Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada vineyard.
“We’re picking icewine grapes. It’s the perfect day for it,” said wine program professor Ron Giesbrecht, as he watched the harvest.
The Teaching Winery and vineyard are located at the college’s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, off of Taylor Rd.
Giesbrecht said there were nearly 60 students from the college’s Winery and Viticulture Technician, and Wine Business Management programs, picking the grapes.
“By the regulations, we have to have a threshold of -8 (Celsius) or lower in temperature, and we’ve certainly got that this morning.”
The icewine harvest started at 6:30 a.m., with students bundled up warmly as they picked grapes from the wines in the darkness.
Asked why the grapes had to be picked at at lest -8 Celsius, Giesbrecht said it was a physical property of the fruit.
“You have to get a certain temperature to freeze enough of the grape to give you higher sugars within the grape as you press them. You have to press them when they are that cold as well.”
With the lower temperatures there are far less grapes left on the vines and far less juice comes from those that are pressed.
“What you get is a concentrated, syrupy juice that you make icewine out of,” said Giesbrecht.
Icewines can be more expensive, he said, because of the yield, small batches and amount of handwork that’s done in the process.