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ice wine - Dessert wine produced from ripe grapes that have been left on the vine and allowed to freeze in the winter cold. The grapes are pressed in such a way that the frozen water remains in the press leaving juice that is highly concentrated in sweetness and acidity. Good ice wines can rival botrytis-affected wines in richness and intensity, as well as in price. Ice wine was first produced commercially in Germany, (see Eiswein), and has recently become a specialty of Canadian winemakers. See also cryoextraction.

IGT - Abbreviation of Indicazione Geografica Tipica.

Impériale - Bottle used in Bordeaux equivalent to 8 standard bottles (6 litres, 1.58 US gal., 1.32 UK gal.). See also half-bottle, magnum, Marie-Jeanne, double magnum and Jéroboam.

in vino veritas - Latin - "In wine there is truth."

INAO - Abbreviation of Institut National des Appellations d'Origine.

Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada - Portuguese - A second level quality designation, behind Denominação de Origem Controlada, for Portuguese wines, it equates roughly to the French VDQS.

Indicazione Geografica Tipica - Italian - A new (1992) designation for Italian wine above the basic vino da tavola but below DOC and DOCG, roughly equivalent to the French vin de pays. It was created at least in part to bring some of the wine makers who have shunned the DOC (see super-Tuscans) back into the fold, but critics feel that even if successful, the IGT could result in more topsy-turvy classifications with some of the Italy's highest quality wines bearing this theoretically third-level designation.

inky - Can describe a red wine that is dark in colour and nearly opaque.

Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (Abbreviated INAO) - The French organization which administers the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée and Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure systems, accounting for nearly half the annual production of wine in France. Established in 1935, it was the first national regulating body for wine, and the AOC became a model for similar systems in other countries. The INAO puts great emphasis on the regional distinctions of its different wines (see terroir) while downplaying varietal origins (to the point of disallowing mention of grape varieties on labels). Some critics, in France and elsewhere, argue that the organization should focus less on particulars of provenance and more on quality.

IPR - Abbreviation of Indicação de Proveniencia Regulamentada.

isinglass - A traditional fining agent, it is a protein found in the bladders of sturgeon and certain other fish.

isoamyl alcohol - One of a number of organic chemicals that occur in trace amounts in wine, it can impart an unpleasant aroma if a wine contains too much of it.