The Eiswein Cometh

The first grapes harvested in 1995 came in Jan. 5, due to an ultra-late harvest in Germany. The 1994 growing season saw some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the German vineyards (the northernmost in Europe and perennially most in need of warm weather), and some grapes were left on the vine until January, when temperatures bottomed out at 10 degrees. The frozen grapes made possible the rare Eiswein.

The 1994 vintage was one of the finest on record, yielding an abundance of sweet, late-harvest Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen wines. Of great benefit to the consumer was the fact that tonnage from the harvest was about the same as the average for the last 10 years, and actually higher than 1993’s. Usually, a great vintage means small quantity.