Johnson Estate Winery Claimed

Our discussion of the harvest at Johnson Estate would not be complete without explaining the ice wine harvest.

In the fall, once the leaves have fallen from the vines, the vineyards allocated for ice wine are covered with netting to protect the fruit from being eaten by birds. This portion of the harvest is delayed until the middle of winter, usually until December or January, and can only proceed if and when the grapes are completely frozen.

When temperatures have fallen to roughly twelve degrees Fahrenheit for a day or more, the grapes may be harvested. The harvest of our ice wine grapes is done manually at Johnson Estate, with the fruit being collected in grape bins, stacked on trailers, and taken immediately to the winery for pressing. Ice wine harvests yield approximately 60 gallons per ton of grapes, compared to the September harvest rate of 170 gallons per ton. The difference is the weight of the pure water crystals left behind in the cold pressed grapes.