🏷️ Eiswein

Eiswein is a sweet wine made from grapes frozen on the vine and pressed while still hard. Eiswein is a Prädikat level in German and Austrian wine law: wine from grapes that were frozen both when picked and when pressed. In Germany it became a separate Prädikat in 1982, with a must weight at least equal to a Beerenauslese; in Austria the must needs at least 25° KMW. ¹⁴⁶

German law. A German wine may be called Prädikatswein with the term Eiswein only if the Prädikat has been granted on application with an official test number, which must appear on the bottle. Like every Prädikat wine it may not be enriched, and the grapes must be frozen at harvest and at pressing; state governments may also require hand-picking. ¹

Cold and must weight. According to the German Wine Institute, the grapes must be at −7 °C or colder when picked and pressed, so that only the fruit concentrate is pressed out. The minimum must weight equals that of a Beerenauslese, 110–128° Oechsle depending on the region, with higher demands in the south. ³⁴ In Rhineland-Palatinate inspectors check a legal minimum of 120° Oechsle. ⁵

Protected words and limits. The words Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein may not be used for products other than wine, and Eiswein may have up to 30 milliequivalents of volatile acidity per litre. ² EU rules allow Eiswein up to 400 mg/l of sulphur dioxide. ⁷

The Eiswein gamble. Grapes may hang until January or even February, and without frost the whole crop can be lost. On average only 5–10% of the original crop becomes Eiswein, often 300–500 litres per hectare, picked mostly in the early morning; the wine keeps at least 100 g/l of residual sugar and comparatively high acidity. ⁴

The 2025 vintage. Frosts of down to −9 °C in November 2025 allowed an early Eiswein harvest in many German regions. In Rhineland-Palatinate, 29 producers pressed about 35,000 litres from only 16.6 ha registered, and musts reached 160° Oechsle for a Mosel Riesling and 197° for a Franconian Silvaner. ⁵

Austria. Austrian law defines Eiswein as wine made only from grapes frozen at harvest and pressing, with at least 25° KMW, the same minimum as Beerenauslese; Trockenbeerenauslese needs 30° KMW. Eiswein may not carry any other Prädikat term or be blended with other Prädikat wines, and a must below 25° KMW can only become Qualitätswein. ⁶

From Pliny to 1982. Pliny wrote about wine from frozen grapes in 44 AD, and in Germany Eiswein is recorded from 11 February 1830 at Dromersheim near Bingen. Unlike Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, which come from overripe or noble-rotted berries, Eiswein owes its character to freezing, with dense concentration and high acidity. ¹⁴

Why it matters to you. The word Eiswein with an official test number guarantees grapes frozen on the vine and no added sugar. ¹ It is rare and costly because the harvest often fails, so it is served in small glasses. ⁴ The WHO stresses that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. ⁸