2005 Vidal Icewine: Sleeping peacefully
Final numbers on the hydrometer were 13.5 brix -- which I peg to actually mean somewhere in the 15 - 16 brix. That's a bunch less sugar and a bunch more alcohol than I was hoping for, but what are you going to do.
Next year, I'll try to ferment the icewine in the 12 degree C range instead of room temperature -- that should draw out the fermentation and cause it to struggle a little more and should keep it from fermenting too vigorously and losing too much sugar.
The carboy and topping bottles are now snug in a couple cardboard boxes down in the storage locker at the condo. It's an unheated basement which is probably around 5 to 8 degrees C and should help with cold stabilization over the next few months of aging. I anticipate racking once every two months or so until I bottle in late summer. That puts the next racking around the end of March or so.