For ‘ice wine’ vintners, frigid temps are reason to rejoice

OVID, N.Y. (AP) — While the vast majority of New Yorkers are hunkering down to ride out frigid temperatures and snow blasts from the latest winter storm, others are seizing on the opportunity to… pick grapes? One Finger Lakes-area winemaker jokingly calls it “insanity,” but these are the ideal conditions for harvesting grapes for ice wine, a dessert variety grown in the region that is known for its sweetness and intense flavors. December’s warmer than average temperatures pushed back the harvesting, but a cold spell this month (Jan. 2022) has the pickers out in numbers. About a dozen upstate wineries make ice win by picking the frozen grapes, while others harvest the grapes during warmer months then freeze them.