Tidings Magazine

“And I sacrificed a goat to St Urbain, the Patron Saint of Wineries.” 

Daniel Speck, owner of Henry of Pelham Winery

Keeping ones sense of humour in light of adversity is always sound judgment. Certainly Daniel’s levity underlines a serious concern for the Ontario wine industry — two years running which saw vines damaged by frosty temperatures dipping below the -20˚C mark. The disagreeable conditions led to reduced crops in table wines, but more importantly Icewine, for both 2003 and 2005.

2005 was the hardest hit, as all growers reported damage with known workhorse, Vidal, and to a much more serious extent, Riesling. Adding insult to injury with the latter was the warm autumn weather and high humidity levels, causing serious viticultural issues. Tom Pennachetti of Cave Springs Cellars described the scenario best.

“Unbelievably, Riesling, which is normally far too green in early September to be affected by warm weather and rainfall, had already advanced to an extent that when such conditions did arise, the grape experienced a major breakdown. The result was yet further reduction in yield due to rot, not to mention that we lost most of the late harvest and icewine crop, as we were forced to pick the remaining healthy Riesling grapes for table wines, before they too went bad.”

A small measure of relief did appear on November 24th, when the earliest Icewine harvest on record officially commenced. This helped to alleviate some of the anxiety that came with leaving grapes on the vine until December or January, thus reducing yield even further due to dehydration. On average, producers reported between a fifty to seventy-five per cent reduction in yield compared to 2004.

Thankfully, a silver lining was found to exist with the 2004 vintage, in that a bumper crop of Icewines boasting good, clean flavors was successfully produced. Many wineries took advantage of this and filled their cellars, confident as a result that they will be able to supply all markets. Others are not so optimistic. A few producers have announced plans to scale back their allocations to different markets. Some go so far as to suggest that they will attempt to purchase any unwanted Icewine juice from other wineries. Given the scarcity of grapes on the vine, I find the last assertion rather unlikely.

Having tasted over three dozen 2004s, I can honestly say that they are solid group of ready to drink icewines, displaying pleasant fruit and acid balance. Stylistically they are elegant, not powerhouses like the 1997s and 1999s, which according to my tastes remain two of the top vintages for Ontario Icewines.