Chateau voor Buren!

Chateau for Neighbors!

On Sunday 25 August, IJswijnen.nl will be at Château voor Buren as one of the many exhibitors, and we have something special in store for you! This year we have chosen the theme Canada vs. Germany. But why exactly these two countries? The answer lies in a fascinating piece of wine history: both Germany and Canada claim to be the true inventors of ice wine.
The Struggle for Origins: Who Came First?

Ice wine, or Eiswein as it is known in Germany, is a unique type of wine made from grapes that are harvested while frozen. This process creates an intensely sweet, concentrated wine that is loved by wine connoisseurs around the world. But who can really call themselves the inventor of this special wine?

Germany is often considered the original source of ice wine. The first documented production of ice wine dates back to 1794 in the Franconia region, where grape growers discovered that grapes left on the vine after an early frost produced an exceptionally sweet wine. Since then, Germany has been one of the largest producers of ice wine and is still considered a pioneer in the field.

Canada also claims to have invented ice wine and has taken the production of ice wine to a new level and is today recognized worldwide as one of the top producers of this wine. The climate in the Niagara region in particular is ideal for making ice wine. Although the Canadian ice wine industry is much younger than that of Germany, it has developed rapidly. The country produced its first commercial ice wine in 1972, and since then it has become a major export product.
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