Temperature for serving Eiswein?
James Alexander Chokey
Hi there! I received a bottle of German Eiswein for my birthday,
and I've been eagerly looking forward to drinking it. Does anyone know
at what temperature one is suppose to serve Eiswein? Generally, I like
to serve desert wines slightly chilled-- warmer than a white wine, but
below room temperature. Is that appropriate for an Eiswein?
-- Jim C. <jch...@leland.stanford.edu>
Andreas Tovornik
Well Jim, put it on ice for awhile, a long while, just until your ice
is completely melted :=)
This is only a guess...But since EIS means ICE in German,
and since WEIN means WINE in German, it stands to reason that
EISWEIN should be served at 0 degrees Celsius (or 32 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Andy.
Stephanie Moskal Fysh
>
> Hi there! I received a bottle of German Eiswein for my birthday,
>and I've been eagerly looking forward to drinking it. Does anyone know
>at what temperature one is suppose to serve Eiswein? Generally, I like
>to serve desert wines slightly chilled-- warmer than a white wine, but
>below room temperature. Is that appropriate for an Eiswein?
According to Tony Aspler, Eisweins should be served the same as other
dessert wines, "well chilled and served at a lower temperature than
you would offer white wines." Eiswein is made from grapes that have
frozen on the vine; the wine itself has not been frozen. If you enjoy
your German eiswein, try an Ontario eiswein -- they've been beating
the Germans consistently in international competition.
Stephanie Fysh
Ian G Batten
> This is only a guess...But since EIS means ICE in German,
> and since WEIN means WINE in German, it stands to reason that
> EISWEIN should be served at 0 degrees Celsius (or 32 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Nonsense. Eiswein is of course made from grapes that have frozen on the
vine, which has a similar effect to Botyritis but not quite. Drink it
at whatever temperature you would drink Sauternes at, or perhaps a hint
cooler.
ian
Richard Nixon
Wrong: While "eis" does indeed mean "ice", the prefix refers to the fact that
the grapes at picked and squeezed semi-frozen, in the fall at the first
frost- note that the grapes (which by this time of the year are semi-raisin
like) are squeezed imediately upon picking- this usually means on the field
(in the actual vinyard).
Andre
Dave Kehlet
Actually, Eiswein means "best served over ice" :-)
A report in the Wine Expectorator a while back said that several famous
Sauternes chateau were using cryogenic processes on their wine, thus
their Sauternes are a combination of botrytis and frozen grapes.
Dave
Sharen A. Rund
>
> Hi there! I received a bottle of German Eiswein for my birthday,
>and I've been eagerly looking forward to drinking it. Does anyone know
>at what temperature one is suppose to serve Eiswein? Generally, I like
>to serve desert wines slightly chilled-- warmer than a white wine, but
>below room temperature. Is that appropriate for an Eiswein?
>
yes, it certainly is....BTW Eiswein gets its name from the fact that the
grape stays on the vine till frost or _ice_ is on the vine - it's
delicious as a sipping wine with a good book, a fire, some fruit (an
apple, a pear, etc)
--
________________ __ ________________ "They that can give up
\_________ \ /_ \ / _________/ essential liberty to
\_________ \_____/ \____/ _________/ obtain temporary safety
\___________________ __________________/ deserve neither liberty
/______\ nor safety."
ALL disclaimers apply .... --Benjamin Franklin
Alexander EICHENER
jch...@leland.Stanford.EDU (James Alexander Chokey) writes:
>and I've been eagerly looking forward to drinking it. Does anyone know
>at what temperature one is suppose to serve Eiswein? Generally, I like
>to serve desert wines slightly chilled-- warmer than a white wine, but
>below room temperature. Is that appropriate for an Eiswein?
Hessische Bergstrasse) and do have a rather extensive experience with
different Eisweine - stemming from my work as a wine journalist as well
as from personal preference - I feel tempted to add my 2 ' worth of
advice:
Main characteristic feature of an Eiswein is the balance of very high
sweetness *and* very high acidity (from 8 to 18 promille acid).
You should use glasses that allow the bouquet to expand. Small tulip
shape is okay. Good sherry glasses are fine, too. The temperature you
indicated is still too low. 14-16 degrees centigrade is minimum, you
might even go up to 18 degrees. Otherwise, you would be missing the
best of the wine: its rich and differentiated fragrancy.
Have fun and enjoy!
Greetings, Alexander Eichener <c...@vm.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>
Sunil Gupta
> In article 21...@leland.Stanford.EDU, jch...@leland.Stanford.EDU (James Alex
> >
> > Hi there! I received a bottle of German Eiswein for my birthday,
> >and I've been eagerly looking forward to drinking it. Does anyone know
> >at what temperature one is suppose to serve Eiswein? Generally, I like
> >to serve desert wines slightly chilled-- warmer than a white wine, but
> >below room temperature. Is that appropriate for an Eiswein?
> >
> >
> > -- Jim C. <jch...@leland.stanford.edu>
>
> Well Jim, put it on ice for awhile, a long while, just until your ice
> is completely melted :=)
>
> This is only a guess...But since EIS means ICE in German,
> and since WEIN means WINE in German, it stands to reason that
> EISWEIN should be served at 0 degrees Celsius (or 32 degrees Fahrenheit.)
>
> Andy.
You are correct in your determination that Eiswein means "ice-wine"
literally, but this is due to the fact that the grapes are frozen
when picked. The wine should definitely NOT be chilled to freezing.
I usually chill dessert wines to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This
temperature works well for most Sauternes, Beerenauslese, TBA, as
well as Eiswein. Just make sure that this bottle has enough age on
it. In my experience, it takes quite a while for the acids in an
Eiswein to settle down.
Sunil Gupta
Monsoon Software, Inc.
s...@monsoon.com
Young Ko
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Mike A Christensen
>atov...@engr.UVic.CA (Andreas Tovornik) writes:
>
>> In article 21...@leland.Stanford.EDU, jch...@leland.Stanford.EDU (James Alex
>> >
>> > Hi there! I received a bottle of German Eiswein for my birthday,
>> >and I've been eagerly looking forward to drinking it. Does anyone know
>> >at what temperature one is suppose to serve Eiswein? Generally, I like
>> >to serve desert wines slightly chilled-- warmer than a white wine, but
>> >below room temperature. Is that appropriate for an Eiswein?
>> >
>> >
>> > -- Jim C. <jch...@leland.stanford.edu>
>>
>I usually chill dessert wines to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This
>temperature works well for most Sauternes, Beerenauslese, TBA, as
>well as Eiswein. Just make sure that this bottle has enough age on
>it. In my experience, it takes quite a while for the acids in an
>Eiswein to settle down.
According to Hugh Johnson, the "ideal" temperature for serving Sweet German
wines is closer to 55-58F ("Cellar temperature"), but the ideal temperature for
serving Sauternes is 42-45F (Close to "Refrigerator tempurature"). This
suprised me, since I normally serve BAs, TBAs and Eisweins closer to 45F than
to 60F also.
Mike Christensen
Alexander EICHENER
mi...@scripps.edu (Mike A Christensen) writes:
>According to Hugh Johnson, the "ideal" temperature for serving Sweet German
>wines is closer to 55-58F ("Cellar temperature"), but the ideal temperature for
>serving Sauternes is 42-45F (Close to "Refrigerator tempurature"). This
>suprised me, since I normally serve BAs, TBAs and Eisweins closer to 45F than
>to 60F also.
very highly; but where he is right, he has to be given credit.
Judging from my own Eiswein experience, I'm afraid you've been losing
something by chilling down these fine wines... They're being drunk here at
cellar or room temperature.
18-20 degrees Celsius should be appropriate; of course, you might choose
to start lower and then warm up the glass in your hand.
Greetings and regards,
Alexander Eichener <c...@vm.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>