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December
Growers
continue pruning the hardier grape varieties. Growers who
have left grapes for Icewine wait anxiously for the winter
harvest. It is not uncommon to have some Icewine grapes picked
by mid-December and the whole crop removed by the end of December.
Usually, though, there is some harvesting left to finish in
January. Icewine grapes must be picked when the berries freeze
consistently solid for a period of two to three days in temperatures
ranging from –8 to –15 degrees Celsius.
January
In most
of the world’s vineyards, winter activity is minimal
and the vineyards are at rest. But Ontario, a province in
east-central Canada, is the world’s largest producer
of Icewine. Here, during the Icewine harvest, January is a
season of high activity and non-stop work. If December temperatures
have not been cold enough to freeze the Icewine grapes solid,
growers hope that January brings the frigid cold of –8
to –15 degrees Celsius that allows the Icewine harvest
to take place.
February
Icewine
grapes have most likely been picked by now. In some unusual
seasons, the harvest has been prolonged into February, or
even March. But in a typical year, Icewine grapes are picked
in December or January. Now, the protective nettings are removed
from the vines. As the daylight hours slowly begin to lengthen
and temperatures gradually climb, growers start to prune their
less-hardy vinifera vines.
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