Harrow winery says no to icewine production this year

There won't be any icewine produced at Cooper's Hawk vineyard this year, attributed to a low yield and a soft market.

Cooper's Hawk has produced vidal icewine in the past, with its most recent run in 2016.

Tom O'Brien, founder and president of the vineyard said the vidal grapes meant for ice wine were picked early and turned into a late harvest vidal wine.

"The icewine market in the last couple of years has really softened," he said. "It used to be a really, really big element for export to China and that has soften quite a bit."

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He said it's hard to find producers of icewine in the Lake Erie north shore region, as there are "big growers that make huge amounts for the big wine companies that they use for distribution in Canada and overseas as well. "

It's not a simple process to grow grapes for ice wine.

O'Brien said it takes three years for a plant to produce any grapes. Cooper's Hawk produces ice wine every three years because of the production cost. And also, one run will last them a while.

Tap the player below to hear the full conversation with Afternoon Drive's Jonathan Pinto.

This was the third year for the Cooper's Hawk vineyard when grapes would finally grow, but it was not enough to make it worthwhile. 

"We'll get a significant amount more next year and more than likely make ice wine next year."