Excerpts from the book “Art Château – vol. 2 – Vernissage with Ice Wine”

The refreshingly sweet ice wine is a very special treat originating in Germany and Austria. Its production process is an interesting story. Only grapes frozen naturally on the vine may be used for the Dionysian drink, forcing growers out to harvest in icy cold weather. Going down the Rhine, you reach a point behind Koblenz where the grapes start feeling uncomfortable. At the steep slopes above Leutesdorf, where the water drains through swiftly, their roots start clawing 15 meters deep into the poor, stony soil. In the vaults of the vineyards around here, 40-year-old wines are kept behind heavy wooden doors. Looking down the vertiginous vineyards, the river and the town come into view. In the background, way up high, squats Hammerstein Castle, while down below, the picturesque landscape of the Rhine Valley with its hoarfrost cover rings in the Christmas season.