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Ice wine glasses: the right glass for icewine
Icewine is intense, sweet and fresh, and poured small. The glass Riedel built for it with Inniskillin, the dessert glasses that work just as well, and how to serve it.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
3 min read
The short answer: use a small glass with a rounded middle and a narrow rim, the same kind of glass you would use for Sauternes. It suits the small pour, holds the aromas of apricot, peach and honey together, and lets the bright acidity show. A good universal glass with a small pour works too.
What makes icewine different
Icewine is made from grapes left on the vine until they freeze naturally, then picked and pressed while still frozen. The water stays behind as ice, and only a little very sweet, concentrated juice runs out. The rules are strict. In Ontario, the grapes must be harvested and pressed at −8 °C or colder, and the juice must reach at least 35 Brix (VQA Ontario). In Germany, Eiswein must come from grapes at least as ripe as Beerenauslese, picked and pressed frozen at about −7 °C (Wines of Germany).
In Canada the main grapes are Vidal, Riesling and, for red icewine, Cabernet Franc. The best icewines are very sweet but never heavy, because the acidity stays high. That balance is what a good glass should show.
The glass made for icewine
In 2000, Riedel released a glass designed specially for icewine, developed with the Canadian winery Inniskillin and a panel of experts in Toronto. It joined Riedel's Vinum Extreme range: a wide middle and a narrow opening. The interesting part is what the panel tested first. Their shortlist was a Sauvignon Blanc glass, a Sauternes glass and a Vintage Port glass (Wine Spectator, October 2000). So if you own a good dessert or Port glass, you already own an icewine glass.
My picks
The original
Riedel Vinum Extreme Icewine
The glass Riedel designed for icewine with Inniskillin. If you can find it, it is the one made for the job.
The classic dessert glass
Riedel Sommeliers Sauternes
Mouth-blown, from Riedel's top range, and one of the shapes the icewine panel shortlisted. The reference glass for sweet wine.
The lightest
Zalto Sweet Wine
Feather-light, with a thin rim that lets icewine's acidity sing. For the true sweet-wine lover. Hand-wash it.
If you have one glass
Your universal glass
No dessert glass? Pour a small measure into a good universal glass. It works well.
Forget the tongue map
You may read that an icewine glass “sends the wine to the tip of your tongue, where you taste sweetness”. That idea, the old tongue map, is a myth: you taste sweetness all over your tongue. What a glass really changes is what you smell, how big the pour looks, and how cleanly the wine reaches you from a thin rim.
How to serve icewine
- Well chilled, around 10 °C (50 °F). A couple of hours in the fridge does it.
- A small pour, about 60 ml (2 oz). Icewine often comes in half bottles, and one goes a long way.
- Fill only a third, so the aromas gather in the glass.
- With food: blue cheese, foie gras, or fruit desserts that are less sweet than the wine. Or on its own, as the dessert.
More sweet-wine glasses: the Sauternes glass and Port wine glasses.
Questions people ask
What glass do you serve ice wine in?
A small glass with a rounded bowl and a narrower rim, such as Riedel's icewine glass or a Sauternes or dessert-wine glass. A universal glass with a small pour also works.
Should ice wine be chilled?
Yes. Serve it well chilled, around 10 °C (50 °F).
How much ice wine do you pour?
A small measure, about 60 ml (2 oz). It is very sweet and concentrated.
Is ice wine the same as Eiswein?
Yes, Eiswein is the German name. Canada and Germany both have strict rules: the grapes must freeze naturally on the vine and be pressed while frozen.
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