TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- While the unusually mild winter has been a boon for drivers and those who don't like shoveling, it has been rough on makers of a cold-climate dessert beverage called ice wine.
Ice wine comes from grapes that have frozen on the vine and yield a few drops of concentrated juice high in sugar. It originated in Germany and is produced by wineries in the northern U.S. and Canada.
Temperatures of 17 degrees or lower are needed before the grapes can be picked.
Many wineries finally got the opportunity to harvest them last week.
But operators say the delay reduced their yields by up to 40 percent.
Ice wine is expensive because it's risky to produce. But makers say the product sets the northern wine industry apart from its warm-weather competition.
