Wait over for New York state's ice wine harvest
(18 Jan 2016) US ICE WINE
SOURCE: AP HORIZONS, LIFESTYLE, HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY
RESTRICTIONS: HORIZONS CLIENTS AND AP LIFESTYLE, HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY CLIENTS ONLY
LENGTH: 2:52
AP Television
Branchport, New York, US - 4 January 2016
1. Mid of vineyard worker wearing balaclava picking frozen grapes in the snow
2. Frozen grapes dropping in basket
3. Hooded vineyard worker picking grapes
4. Farm workers loading grapes on moving cart
5. Wide of tractor unloading grape baskets
6. Wide of workers loading grape bins
7. Medium of workers dumping grapes into machine
8. Grapes being processed
9. Grape juice oozing from press
10. Hunt Country Vineyards owner Art Hunt sipping wine
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Art Hunt, Hunt Country Vineyards owner:
When we press the frozen grapes we get this incredibly intense, complex juice, but only a small amount.
12. Various of vineyard workers picking grapes
13. Wide of worker moving bin in vine row
14. Workers loading grape bins
15. Frozen grapes covered with snow
16. Wide of workers pushing grapes into machine
17. Various of grapes going into press machine
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Art Hunt, Hunt Country Vineyards owner:
And so we have a range of flavours when we press the ice wine. It's going to be very complex. We have raisiny, honey, plummy flavours and a good crisp acidity.
AP Television
Altamont, New York, US - 10 January 2016
19. Cork screwed from bottle
20. Ice wine poured into glass
AP Television
Latham, New York, US - 8 January 2016
21. Medium of ice wines on store shelf
22. Medium, bottle picked from shelf
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Ralph Bonavist, All Star Wine & Spirits co-owner:
They sell year-round, for sure. But during the holiday time, ice wines really seem to ramp up in sales.
AP Television
Branchport, New York, US - 4 January 2016
24. Various of workers pushing grapes into press machine
25. Grapes going into machine
26. Spinning press machine with worker in background
27. Juice from press
28. Various of workers picking grapes in snowy vineyard
29. Workers following tractor down row
LEADIN:
The ice wine harvesting season has finally arrived in upstate New York.
This year's mild winter meant winemakers had to wait longer than usual to harvest the frozen grapes, which produce a sweet wine that's a local speciality.
STORYLINE:
When the mercury plummets, it's time to make ice wine in upstate New York.
The key is to pick and press when temperatures are cold enough to freeze the water in the grapes.
Grapes frozen on the vine yield a sweeter, thicker and more concentrated juice.
It contains about 38 percent sugar compared with 22 percent in the juice used to make white table wines.
When we press the frozen grapes we get this incredibly intense, complex juice, but only a small amount, says Hunt Country Vineyards owner Art Hunt.
The Finger Lakes in upstate New York is one of the few wine-growing areas in the US that produces sweet wine with the help of wintry weather.
Some vineyards leave a small portion of grapes on the vine beyond the autumn harvest in the hope of using them for ice wine.
It can be risky. Grapes often get poached by deer and birds or blown down.
But if nothing happens and the weather cooperates, it definitely pays off.
We have a range of flavours when we press the ice wine. It's going to be very complex. We have raisiny, honey, plummy flavours and a good crisp acidity, Hunt says.
Ice wine is quite popular in Canada and has a long history in Germany, but it is still a niche market in the US, where bottles sell for 30 US dollars or more.
Harvest at Hunt Country Vineyards was about a month later than usual this year because of the unseasonably mild weather.
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Market to Market (April 8, 2016)
Millions of Americans get a bump in pay to $15 per hour. The nation’s largest grocer adopts a cage-free egg policy. Winter’s freeze helps squeeze more profit from the fruit of the vine. Market analysis with Angie Setzer.