According to Luxist.com, Ice Wine, a product of Canada, commands the second highest average per bottle in wine exports, Swiss wines being the highest, beating out the prices of some of the most expensive wines such as Champagne, Bordeaux, and Port.
Canada is the world’s largest producer of Ice Wine, and the half bottles that contain 375 mL of wine are priced overseas from $50 to $500 each, especially in the Asian market. In fact, according to the Wine Economist, Asian tourists leaving North America will clean out airport duty-free shops of their Ice Wine inventory.
The reason for the high price of the wine is the grape juice production. The grapes must be picked by hand in the cold, and the grape juice is so concentrated that it offers from one-quarter to one-third the volume of wine that grapes harvested the regular way. The final yield of wine as well as the labor costs accounts for the high prices of the finished product.
The most commonly found Ice Wine in the U.S. is Inniskillin, which has wineries in Niagara, Ontario as well as the Okanagan Valley. A 2008 Vidal Ice Wine costs around $45.00. The Peller Estates 2004 Cabernet Franc Ice Wine is priced around $69.99, and the Peller 2004 Riesling Ice Wine is $64.99. The 2004 Hainle Riesling Ice Wine is priced at $79.00, and the 1993 vintage goes for $388.00.
