(NWW) - The recent cold weather in large parts of our country (South Africa) made me remember a tasting I had with a winemaker. As far was icewine was concerned, he got the concept of minimum and maximum temperatures all mixed up and insisted that he harvested his frozen grapes at a minimum temperature of -7˚C. After realising that his mind was frozen from all the alcohol he had consumed during our tasting, I accepted the futility of trying to explain to him that he was actually referring to the maximum temperature requirement. It is believed that frozen grapes were already harvested in the Roman times. Other reports indicate icewine production in Germany as far back as 1794. Another documented case stated that German vintners anticipated a very harsh fall in 1829. Grapes were left hanging on the vines for later use as animal feed. After discovery that these grapes yielded very sweet must, icewine was born! Austria, Canada and certain states in the USA also produce icewine, with China, USA, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore being the top markets for icewine.