After you've become an expert at making traditional red wines, and have ventured into white wines, the next logical progression is to start to research making ice wine. Is making ice wine different than making other types of wine? The answer is yes and no. The overall process is the same, except for the harvesting and pressing of the wine. Ice wine is a special type of wine that is typically made from Riesling or Vidal (although red ice wines are also possible) that have been left to freeze on the vine.

Can you make ice wine at home? If you have access to grapes and if you have a cold enough climate, you can make ice wine at home. If you don't have access to fresh frozen grapes, some companies offer ice wine concentrates that have been made from grapes harvested and pressed while frozen.

To make your own ice wine get up in the middle of the night when the grapes are frozen solid. Then, before the grapes unthaw, you are going to press the grapes. The result is that the water is going to come out, leaving you with a more concentrated, sugary wine. The rest of the wine process is relatively the same.

So what is so special about making ice wine? If you've looked in your local wine shop, you've probably seen that a lot of the really expensive white wines are ice wines. Why are they typically more expensive (and usually in a 375 ml bottle instead of a 750 ml bottle)? Grapes that are pressed while frozen yield less juice per pound than ordinary grapes, but the result is a dessert wine that is sweet and delicious.

Making ice wine is a good project if you want to experiment with making new types of wine. This dessert wine is a delicious treat to have after a nice dinner with friends.