President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau put Northern Michigan ice wine on the map when they sipped Chateau Chantal’s Ice Wine at a White House state dinner. So what makes ice wine such a specialty?
Just after the first frost, Northern Michigan vintners take to their chilly vineyards to pick the select grapes they’ve let freeze. These will be pressed into ice wine, the dessert wine some call the nectar of the gods. Here are five great dessert wines to savor this season. Whether sipping after a meal or by the fire, these rich, sweet wines will warm your soul. To read about how ice wine is harvested and produced, check out this article, “Making Ice Wine in Northern Michigan.”
45 North
2013 Ice Wine Riesling
$95 | 231.271.1188, fortyfivenorth.com
Bel Lago
2011 Ice Wine Pinot Grigio
$75 | 231.228.4800, bellago.com
Black Star Farms
2013 A Capella Ice Wine—sold out! (But they just picked their 2016 season, so stay tuned!)
$92.50 | 231.944.1270, blackstarfarms.com
Chateau Chantal
Ice Wine—sold out!
$70 | 800.969.4009, chateauchantal.com
Verterra Winery
2012 Tundra Ice Wine
$49 | 231.256.2115, verterrawinery.com
Check out this MyNorth video for apeekk into the Traverse Bay Wine Loop: