What is the oldest bank in the world?

Depending on the definition, the world's oldest bank is either Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena or Berenberg Bank. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded in its present form in 1624, but traces its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472. The Berenberg company was founded in 1590 and has operated continuously ever since with the same family as owners or major co-owners. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is today a large Italian retail bank, while Berenberg Bank is primarily involved in investment banking and private banking for wealthy customers; in any event Berenberg Bank is the world's oldest merchant bank or investment bank. The world's oldest central bank is the Sveriges Riksbank, which was founded in 1668.

List of oldest banks in continuous operation

This list of the oldest banks includes financial institutions in "continuous" operation, operating with the same legal identity without interruption since their establishment until the present time.


What is the most famous work by Kalidasa?

Malwa was the centre of Sanskrit literature during and after the Gupta period. The region's most famous playwright, Kalidasa, is considered to be the greatest Indian writer ever. His first surviving play is "Malavikagnimitra" (Malavika and Agnimitra). Kalidasa's second play, his masterpiece, is the Abhijñānaśākuntalam, which tells the story of king Dushyanta, who falls in love with a girl of lowly birth, the lovely Shakuntala. The last of Kalidasa's surviving plays is "Vikramuurvashiiya" ("Urvashi conquered by valour"). Kalidasa also wrote the epic poems "Raghuvamsha" ("Dynasty of Raghu"), "Ritusamhāra" and "Kumarasambhava" ("Birth of the war god"), as well as the lyric "Meghaduuta" ("The cloud messenger").

Malwa

Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, the historical Malwa region includes districts of western Madhya Pradesh and parts of south-eastern Rajasthan. The definition of Malwa is sometimes extended to include the Nimar region south of the Vindhyas.

The Malwa region had been a separate political unit from the time of the ancient Malava Kingdom. It has been ruled by several kingdoms and dynasties, including the Avanti Kingdom, the Mauryans, the Malavas, the Guptas, the Paramaras, the Malwa sultans, the Mughals and the Marathas. Malwa continued to be an administrative division until 1947, when the Malwa Agency of British India was merged into Madhya Bharat (also known as Malwa Union) state of independent India.

Although its political borders have fluctuated throughout history, the region has developed its own distinct culture, influenced by the Rajasthani, Marathi and Gujarati cultures. Several prominent people in the history of India have hailed from Malwa, including the poet and dramatist Kalidasa, the author Bhartrihari, the mathematicians and astronomers Varahamihira and Brahmagupta, and the polymath king Bhoja. Ujjain had been the political, economic, and cultural capital of the region in ancient times, and Indore is now the largest city and commercial centre.

Overall, agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Malwa. The region has been one of the important producers of opium in the world. Wheat and soybeans are other important cash crops, and textiles are a major industry.

Several early stone age or Lower Paleolithic habitations have been excavated in eastern Malwa. The name "Malwa" is derived from the name of the ancient Indian tribe of "Malavas". The name "Malava" is said to be derived from the Sanskrit term "Malav", which means “part of the abode of "Lakshmi"”. The location of the Malwa or "Moholo", mentioned by the 7th-century Chinese traveller Xuanzang, is plausibly identified with present-day Gujarat. The region is cited as "Malibah" in Arabic records, such as "Kamilu-t Tawarikh" by Ibn Asir.

The Malwa Culture was a Chalcolithic archaeological culture which existed in the Malwa region, as well as nearby parts of Maharashtra to the south, during the 2nd millennium BCE.

Ujjain, also known historically as "Ujjaiyini" and "Avanti", emerged as the first major centre in the Malwa region during India's second wave of urbanisation in the 7th century BC (the first wave was the Indus Valley Civilization). Around 600 BC an earthen rampart was built around Ujjain, enclosing a city of considerable size. Ujjain was the capital city of the Avanti kingdom, one of the prominent mahajanapadas of ancient India. In the post-Mahabharata period—around 500 BC—Avanti was an important kingdom in western India; it was ruled by the Haihayas, a people who were responsible for the destruction of Naga power in western India.

The region was conquered by the Nanda Empire in the mid-4th century BC, and subsequently became part of the Maurya Empire. Ashoka, who was later a Mauryan emperor, was governor of Ujjain in his youth. After the death of Ashoka in 232 BC, the Maurya Empire began to collapse. Although evidence is sparse, Malwa was probably ruled by the Kushanas, the Shakas and the Satavahana dynasty during the 1st and 2nd century CE. Ownership of the region was the subject of dispute between the Western Kshatrapas and the Satavahanas during the first three centuries AD. Ujjain emerged a major trading centre during the 1st century AD.
Malwa became part of the Gupta Empire during the reign of Chandragupta II (375–413), also known as "Vikramaditya", who conquered the region, driving out the Western Kshatrapas. The Gupta period is widely regarded as a golden age in the history of Malwa, when Ujjain served as the empire's western capital. Kalidasa, Aryabhata and Varahamihira were all based in Ujjain, which emerged as a major centre of learning, especially in astronomy and mathematics. Around 500, Malwa re-emerged from the dissolving Gupta Empire as a separate kingdom; in 528, Yasodharman of Malwa defeated the Hunas, who had invaded India from the north-west. During the seventh century, the region became part of Harsha's empire, who disputed the region with the Chalukya king Pulakesin II of Badami in the Deccan.

In 756 AD Gurjara-Pratiharas advanced into Malwa. In 786 the region was captured by the Rashtrakuta kings of the Deccan, and was disputed between the Rashtrakutas and the Gurjara Pratihara kings of Kannauj until the early part of the tenth century. The Emperors of the Rashtrakuta dynasty appointed the Paramara rulers as governors of Malwa. From the mid-tenth century, Malwa was ruled by the Paramaras, who established a capital at Dhar. King Bhoj, who ruled from about 1010 to 1060, was known as the great polymath philosopher-king of medieval India; his extensive writings cover philosophy, poetry, medicine, veterinary science, phonetics, yoga, and archery. Under his rule Malwa became an intellectual centre of India. His successors ruled until about 1305, when Malwa was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate. Malwa was several times invaded by the south Indian Western Chalukya Empire.
Dilawar Khan, previously Malwa's governor under the rule of the Delhi sultanate, declared himself sultan of Malwa in 1401 after the Mughal conqueror Timur attacked Delhi, causing the break-up of the sultanate into smaller states. Khan started the "Malwa Sultanate" and established a capital at Mandu, high in the Vindhya Range overlooking the Narmada River valley. His son and successor, Hoshang Shah (1405–35), developed Mandu as an important city. Hoshang Shah's son, Ghazni Khan, ruled for only a year and was succeeded by Mahmud Khalji (1436–69), the first of the Khalji sultans of Malwa, who expanded the state to include parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the Deccan. The Muslim sultans invited the Rajputs to settle in the country. In the early 16th century, the sultan sought the aid of the sultans of Gujarat to counter the growing power of the Rajputs, while the Rajputs sought the support of the Sesodia Rajput kings of Mewar.

Gujarat stormed Mandu in 1518. In 1531, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, captured Mandu, executed Mahmud II (1511–31), and shortly after that, the Malwa sultanate collapsed. The Mughal emperor Akbar captured Malwa in 1562 and made it a subah (province) of his empire. The Malwa Subah existed from 1568 to 1743. Mandu was abandoned by the 17th century.
As the Mughal state weakened after 1700, the Marathas held sway over Malwa under dispatchment of Baji Rao I under leadership of Chimnaji Appa, Nemaji Shinde and Chimnaji Damodar were the first Maratha generals to cross the boundary of Maharashtra and to invade in Malwa in 1698. Subsequently, Malharrao Holkar (1694–1766) became leader of Maratha armies in Malwa in 1724, and in 1733 the Maratha Peshwa granted him control of most of the region, which was formally ceded by the Mughals in 1738. Ranoji Scindia, noted Maratha commander, established his headquarters at Ujjain in 1721. This capital was later moved to Gwalior State by Daulatrao Scindia. Another Maratha general, Anand Rao Pawar, established himself as the Raja of Dhar in 1742, and the two Pawar brothers became Rajas of Dewas State.

At the end of the 18th century, Malwa became the venue of fighting between the rival Maratha powers and the headquarters of the Pindaris, who were irregular plunderers. The Pindaris were rooted out in a campaign by the British general Lord Hastings, and further order was established under Sir John Malcolm. The Holkar dynasty ruled Malwa from Indore and Maheshwar on the Narmada until 1818, when the Marathas were defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, and the Holkars of Indore became a princely state of the British Raj.

After 1818 the British organised the numerous princely states of central India into the Central India Agency; the Malwa Agency was a division of Central India, with an area of and a population of 1,054,753 in 1901. It comprised the states of Dewas State (senior and junior branch), Jaora, Ratlam, Sitamau and Sailana, together with a large part of Gwalior, parts of Indore and Tonk, and about 35 small estates and holdings. Political power was exercised from Neemuch.

Upon Indian independence in 1947, the Holkars and other princely rulers acceded to India, and most of Malwa became part of the new state of Madhya Bharat, which was merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956.

The Malwa region occupies a plateau in western Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan (between and ), with Gujarat in the west. The region includes the Madhya Pradesh districts of Agar, Dewas, Dhar, Indore, Jhabua, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Shajapur, Ujjain, and parts of Guna and Sehore, and the Rajasthan districts of Jhalawar and parts of Kota, Banswara and Pratapgarh.

Malwa is bounded in the north-east by the Hadoti region, in the north-west by the Mewar region, in the west by the Vagad region and Gujarat. To the south and east is the Vindhya Range and to the north is the Bundelkhand upland.

The plateau is an extension of the Deccan Traps, formed between 60 and 68 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. In this region the main classes of soil are black, brown and "bhatori" (stony) soil. The volcanic, clay-like soil of the region owes its black colour to the high iron content of the basalt from which it formed. The soil requires less irrigation because of its high capacity for moisture retention. The other two soil types are lighter and have a higher proportion of sand.

The average elevation of the plateau is 500 m. Some of the peaks over 800 m high are at Sigar (881 m), Janapav (854 m) and Ghajari (810 m). The plateau generally slopes towards the north. The western part of the region is drained by the Mahi River, while the Chambal River drains the central part, and the Betwa River and the headwaters of the Dhasan and Ken rivers drain the east. The Shipra River is of historical importance because of the Simhasth mela, held every 12 years. Other notable rivers are Parbati, Gambhir and Choti Kali Sindh.

Due to its altitude of about 550 to 600 meters above mean sea level, the region has comparatively cool evenings against the hot days during the summer season. Even if the day temperature reaches 42 to 43 degrees Celsius, the night temperatures are always in range of 20 to 22 degrees making the climate much cooler than the other areas of the region. The cool morning wind, the "karaman", and an evening breeze, the "", make the summers less harsh. The term "Shab-e-Malwa", meaning dusk in Malwa (from "shab", Urdu for night), was introduced by the Mughals.
The year is popularly divided into three seasons: summer, the rains, and winter. Summer extends over the months of Chaitra to Jyestha (mid-March to mid-May). The average maximum temperature during the summer months is 37 °C, which typically rises to around 40 °C on a few days. The rainy season starts with the first showers of Aashaadha (mid-June) and extends to the middle of Ashvin (September). Most of the rain falls during the southwest monsoon spell, and ranges from about 80 cm in the west to about 10.5 cm in the east. Indore and the immediately surrounding areas receive an average of 90 cm of rainfall a year. The growing period lasts from 90 to 150 days, during which the average daily temperature is below 30 °C, but seldom falls below 20 °C. Winter is the longest of the three seasons, extending for about five months (mid-Ashvin to Phalgun, i.e., October to mid-March). The average daily minimum temperature ranges from 6 °C to 9 °C, though on some nights it can fall as low as 3 °C. Some cultivators believe that an occasional winter shower during the months of Pausha and Maagha—known as Mawta—is helpful to the early summer wheat and germ crops.
The region is part of the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

Vegetation: The natural vegetation is tropical dry forest, with scattered teak "(Tectona grandis)" forests. The main trees are "Butea", "Bombax", "Anogeissus", "Acacia", "Buchanania" and "Boswellia". The shrubs or small trees include species of "Grewia, Ziziphus mauritiana, Casearia, Prosopis, Capparis, Woodfordia, "Phyllanthus," and "Carissa".

Wildlife: Sambhar "(Cervus unicolor)", Blackbuck "(Antilope cervicapra)", and Chinkara "(Gazella bennettii)" are some common ungulates.
During the last century, deforestation has happened at a fast rate, leading to environmental problems such as acute water scarcity and the danger that the region is being desertified.

The population of the Malwa region was about 18.9 million in 2001, with a population density of a moderate 231/km². The annual birth rate in the region was 31.6 per 1000, and the death rate 10.3. The infant mortality rate was 93.8, slightly higher than the overall rate for the Madhya Pradesh state.

There are numerous tribes in the region, such as the Bhils—and their allied groups, the Meos the Bhilalas, Barelas and Patelias—and the Meenas, who all differ to a remarkable degree from the regional population in their dialects and social life. They encompass a variety of languages and cultures. Some tribes of the region, notably the Kanjars, were notified in the 19th century for their criminal activities, but have since been denotified. A nomadic tribe from the Marwar region of Rajasthan, the Gadia Lohars—who work as "lohars" (blacksmiths)—visit the region at the start of the agricultural season to repair and sell agricultural tools and implements, stopping temporarily on the outskirts of villages and towns and residing in their ornate metal carts. The Kalbelia is another nomadic tribe from Rajasthan that regularly visits the region.

Malwa has a significant number of Dawoodi Bohras, a subsect of Shia Muslims from Gujarat, who are mostly businessmen by profession. Besides speaking the local languages, the Bohras have their own language, Lisan al-Dawat. The Patidars, who probably originated from the Kurmis of Punjab, are mostly rural farmers who settled in Gujarat around 1400. Periods of Maratha rule led to the growth of sizeable Marathi communities. The region of Indore, Dhar, Dewas and Ujjain has a considerable Marathi speaking populace. A significant number of Marwaris, Jats and Rajputs also live in the region. The Sindhis, who settled in the region after the partition of India, are an important part of the business community. Like southern Rajasthan, the region has a significant number of Jains, who are mostly traders and business people. The region is home to smaller numbers of Goan Catholics, Anglo-Indians, Punjabis and Parsis or Zoroastrians. The Parsis are closely connected to the growth and evolution of Mhow, which has a Parsi fire temple and a Tower of Silence.

Indore is the commercial capital of Malwa region. Malwa is one of the world's major opium producers. This crop resulted in development of close connections between the economies of Malwa, the western Indian ports and China, bringing international capital to the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Malwa opium was a challenge to the monopoly of the British East India Company, which was supplying Bengal opium to China. This led the British company to impose many restrictions on the production and trade of the drug; eventually, opium trading was pushed underground. When smuggling became rife, the British eased the restrictions. Today, the region is one of the largest producers of legal opium in the world. There is a central, government-owned opium and alkaloid factory in the city of Neemuch. Nevertheless, there is a still a significant amount of illicit opium production, which is channelled into the black market. The headquarters of India's Central Bureau of Narcotics is in Gwalior. The Rajputana-Malwa Railway was opened in 1876.

The region is predominantly agricultural. The brown soil in parts of the region is particularly suitable for the cultivation of such "unalu" (early summer) crops as wheat, gram ("Cicer arietinum") and til ("Sesamum indicum"). Relatively poor soil is used for the cultivation of such "syalu" (early winter) crops as millet ("Andropogon sorghum"), maize ("Zea mays"), mung bean ("Vigna radiata"), urad ("Vigna mungo"), batla ("Pisum sativum") and peanuts ("Arachis hypogaea"). Overall, the main crops are jowar, rice, wheat, coarse millet, peanuts and pulses, soya bean, cotton, linseed, sesame and sugarcane. Sugar mills are located in numerous small towns.

The black, volcanic soil is ideal for the cultivation of cotton, and textile manufacture is an important industry. Large centres of textile production include Indore, Ujjain and Nagda. Maheshwar is known for its fine "Maheshwari" saris, and Mandsaur for its coarse woollen blankets. Handicrafts are an important source of income for the tribal population. Coloured lacquerware from Ratlam, rag dolls from Indore, and papier-mâché articles from Indore, Ujjain and several other centres are well known.

Mandsaur district is the sole producer in India of white- and red-coloured slate, used in the district's 110 slate pencil factories. There is a cement factory in. Apart from this, the region lacks mineral resources. The region's industries mainly produce consumer goods—but there are now many centres of large- and medium-scale industries, including Indore, Nagda and Ujjain. Indore has a large-scale factory that produces diesel engines. Pithampur, an industrial town 25 km from Indore, is known as the Detroit of India for its heavy concentration of automotive industry. Indore is recognised as the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, and is the main centre for trade in textiles and agro-based products. It has one of the six Indian Institutes of Management and one of sixteen Indian Institute of Technology.

The culture of Malwa has been significantly influenced by Rajasthani culture, because of their geographic proximity. Marathi influence is also visible, because of recent rule by the Marathas.

The main language of Malwa is Malvi, although Hindi is widely spoken in the cities. This Indo-European language is subclassified as Indo-Aryan. The language is sometimes referred to as Malavi or Ujjaini. Malvi is part of the Rajasthani branch of languages; Nimadi is spoken in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh and in Rajasthan. The dialects of Malvi are, in alphabetical order, Bachadi, Bhoyari, Dholewari, Hoshangabadi, Jamral, Katiyai, Malvi Proper, Patvi, Rangari, Rangri and Sondwari. A survey in 2001 found only four dialects: Ujjaini (in the districts of Ujjain, Indore, Dewas and Sehore), Rajawari (Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch), Umadwari (Rajgarh) and Sondhwari (Jhalawar, in Rajasthan). About 55% of the population of Malwa can converse in and about 40% of the population is literate in Hindi, the official language of the Madhya Pradesh state.

Traditional Malwa food has elements of Rajasthani, Gujarati and Maharashtrian cuisine. Traditionally, jowar was the staple cereal, but after the Green Revolution in India, wheat has replaced jowar as the most important food crop; many are vegetarians. Since the climate is mostly dry throughout the year, most people rely on stored foods such as pulses, and green vegetables are rare. A typical snack of Malwa is the "bhutta ri kees" (made with grated corn roasted in ghee and later cooked in milk with spices). "Chakki ri shaak" is made of wheat dough, which is washed under running water, steamed and then used in a gravy of curd. The traditional bread of Malwa is called "baati/bafla", which is essentially a small, round ball of wheat flour, roasted over dung cakes, in the traditional way. "Baati" is typically eaten with dal (pulses), while "baflas" are dripping with ghee and soaked with dal. The "amli ri kadhi" is "kadhi" made with tamarind instead of yogurt. Sweet cakes, made of a variety of wheat called "tapu", are prepared during religious festivities. Sweet cereal called "thulli" is also typically eaten with milk or yoghurt. Traditional desserts include "mawa-bati" (milk-based sweet similar to Gulab jamun), "khoprapak" (coconut-based sweet), "shreekhand" (yogurt based) and "malpua".

"Lavani" is a widely practised form of folk music in southern Malwa, which was brought to the region by the Marathas. The "Nirguni Lavani" (philosophical) and the "Shringari Lavani" (erotic) are two of the main genres. The Bhils have their own folk songs, which are always accompanied by dance. The folk musical modes of Malwa are of four or five notes, and in rare cases six. The devotional music of the "Nirguni" cult is popular throughout Malwa. Legends of "Raja" Bhoj and "Bijori", the "Kanjar" girl, and the tale of "Balabau" are popular themes for folk songs. Insertions known as "stobha" are commonly used in Malwa music; this can occur in four ways: the "matra stobha" (syllable insertion), "varna stobha" (letter insertion), "shabda stobha" (word insertion) and "vakya stobha" (sentence insertion).

"Swang" is a popular dance form in Malwa; its roots go back to the origins of the Indian theatre tradition in the first millennium BC. Since women did not participate in the dance-drama form, men enacted their roles. "Swang" incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry, accompanied alternately by song and dialogue. The genre is dialogue-oriented rather than movement-oriented.

"Mandana" (literally painting) wall and floor paintings are the best-known painting traditions of Malwa. White drawings stand out in contrast to the base material consisting of a mixture of red clay and cow dung. Peacocks, cats, lions, goojari, bawari, the swastika and chowk are some motifs of this style. "Sanjhya" is a ritual wall painting done by young girls during the annual period when Hindus remember and offer ritual oblation to their ancestors. Malwa miniature paintings are well known for their intricate brushwork. In the 17th century, an offshoot of the Rajasthani school of miniature painting, known as "Malwa painting", was centred largely in Malwa and Bundelkhand. The school preserved the style of the earliest examples, such as the "Rasikapriya" series dated 1636 (after a poem analysing the love sentiment) and the "Amaru Sataka" (a 17th-century Sanskrit poem). The paintings from this school are flat compositions on black and chocolate-brown backgrounds, with figures shown against a solid colour patch, and architecture painted in vibrant colours.

The biggest festival of Malwa is the "Simhastha mela", held every 12 years, in which more than 40 million pilgrims take a holy dip in river Shipra. The festival of "Gana-gour" is celebrated in honour of Shiva and Parvati. The history of the festival goes back to "Rano Bai", whose parental home was in Malwa, but who was married in Rajasthan. Rano Bai was strongly attached to Malwa, and did not want to stay in Rajasthan. After marriage, she was allowed to visit Malwa only once a year; "Gana-gour" symbolises these annual return visits. The festival is observed by women in the region once in the month of "Chaitra" (mid-March) and "Bhadra" (mid-August). The "Ghadlya" (earthen pot) festival is celebrated by the girls of the region, who gather to visit every house in their village in the evenings, carrying earthen pots with holes for the light from oil lamps inside to escape. In front of every house, the girls recite songs connected with the Ghadlya and receive food or money in return. The "Gordhan" festival is celebrated on the 16th day in the month of Kartika. The Bhils of the region sing "Heeda", anecdotal songs to the cattle, while the women sing the "Chandrawali" song, associated with Krishna's romance.

The most popular fairs are held in the months of "Phalguna", "Chaitra", "Bhadra", "Ashvin" and "Kartik". The "Chaitra" fair, held at Biaora, and the "Gal yatras", held at more than two dozen villages in Malwa are remarkable. Many fairs are held in the tenth day of the month of "Bhadra" to mark the birth of Tejaji. The "Triveni mela" is held at Ratlam, and other fairs take place in "Kartika" at Ujjain, Mandhata (Nimad), among others.

The main tourist destinations in Malwa are places of historical or religious significance. The river Shipra and the city of Ujjain have been regarded as sacred for thousands of years. The Mahakal Temple of Ujjain is one of the 12 "jyotirlingas". Ujjain has over 100 other ancient temples, including "Harsidhhi", "Chintaman Ganesh", "Gadh Kalika", "Kaal Bhairava" and "Mangalnath". The Kalideh Palace, on the outskirts of the city, is a fine example of ancient Indian architecture. The Bhartrihari caves are associated with interesting legends. Since the fourth century BC, Ujjain has enjoyed the reputation of being India's Greenwich,
as the Prime Meridian of the Hindu geographers. The observatory built by Jai Singh II is one of the four such observatories in India and features ancient astronomical devices. The "Simhastha mela", celebrated every 12 years, starts on the full moon day in Chaitra (April) and continues into Vaishakha (May) until the next full moon day.

Mandu was originally the fort capital of the Parmar rulers. Towards the end of the 13th century, it came under the sway of the Sultans of Malwa, the first of whom named it Shadiabad (city of joy). It remained as the capital, and in it the sultans built exquisite palaces like the Jahaz Mahal and Hindola Mahal, ornamental canals, baths and pavilions. The massive Jami Masjid and Hoshang Shah's tomb provided inspiration to the designers of the Taj Mahal centuries later. Baz Bahadur built a huge palace in Mandu in the 16th century. Other notable historical monuments are "Rewa Kund", Rupmati's Pavilion, Nilkanth Mahal, Hathi Mahal, Darya Khan's Tomb, Dai ka Mahal, Malik Mughit is Mosque and Jali Mahal.

Close to Mandu is Maheshwar, a town on the northern bank of Narmada River that served as the capital of the Indore state under Rajmata Ahilya Devi Holkar. The Maratha "rajwada" (fort) is the main attraction. A life-size statue of Rani Ahilya sits on a throne within the fort complex. Dhar was the capital of Malwa before Mandu became the capital in 1405. There, the fort is in ruins but offers a panoramic view. The Bhojashala Mosque (built in 1400) is still used as a place of worship on Fridays. The abandoned Lat Masjid (1405) and the tomb of Kamal Maula (early 15th century), a Muslim saint, are other places of interest.

Modern Indore was planned and built by Rajmata Ahilya Devi Holkar. The grand Lal Baag Palace is one of its grandest monuments. The "Bada Ganpati" temple houses what is possibly the largest Ganesh idol in the world, measuring 7.6 m from crown to foot. The "Kanch Mandir" is a Jain temple entirely inlaid with glass. The Town Hall was made in 1904 in indo-gothic style; originally named King Edward Hall, it was renamed Mahatma Gandhi Hall in 1948. The "chhatris" are the tombs or cenotaphs erected in memory of dead Holkar rulers and their family members.

The shrine of Hussain Tekri, built by the Nawab of Jaora, Mohammad Iftikhar Ali Khan Bahadur, in the 19th century, is on the outskirts of Jaora in the Ratlam district. Mohammad Iftikhar Ali Khan Bahadur was buried in the same graveyard where Hussain Tekri was buried. During the month of Moharram, thousands of people from all over the world visit the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussain there, which is a replica of the Iraqi original. The place is famous for the rituals called "Hajri" to cure mental illness.

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the region. Indore is also home to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. The city has two international cricket ground, the Holkar Cricket Stadium. The first cricket ODI match in state was played in Indore at Indore.

Kālidāsa wrote three plays. Among them, "Abhijñānaśākuntalam" ("Of Shakuntala recognised by a token") is generally regarded as a masterpiece. It was among the first Sanskrit works to be translated into English, and has since been translated into many languages.

Kālidāsa

Kālidāsa was a Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language of India. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Puranas.

Much about his life is unknown, only what can be inferred from his poetry and plays. His works cannot be dated with precision, but they were most likely authored within the 4th-5th century CE.

Scholars have speculated that Kalidasa may have lived near the Himalayas, in the vicinity of Ujjain, and in Kalinga. This hypothesis is based on Kalidasa's detailed description of the Himalayas in his "Kumārasambhava", the display of his love for Ujjain in "Meghadūta", and his highly eulogistic descriptions of Kalingan emperor Hemāngada in "Raghuvaṃśa" (sixth "sarga").

Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891-1953), a Sanskrit scholar and a Kashmiri Pandit, wrote a book titled "The birth-place of Kalidasa" (1926), which tries to trace the birthplace of Kalidasa based on his writings. He concluded that Kalidasa was born in Kashmir, but moved southwards, and sought the patronage of local rulers to prosper. The evidence cited by him from Kalidasa's writings includes:According to folklore, once a scholarly princess decided to find a suitable groom by testing men in her kingdom for their intelligence. When no man could pass the test, the frustrated citizens decided to send Kalidasa, an unintelligent man, for an interview with the princess. Kalidasa fared poorly, and was greatly humiliated by the princess. Challenged by the princess, he visited a Kali temple, and was inspired to learn Sanskrit; he studied the Puranas and other ancient texts, and become a great poet. He then wrote three epics starting with the words of his insult: "अस्ति कश्चित् वाग्विशेश?".

Another legend is that he visited Kumaradasa, the king of Sri Lanka formerly known as Ceylon and, because of some treachery, Kalidasa was murdered there.

Several ancient and medieval books state that Kalidasa was a court poet of a king named Vikramaditya. A legendary king named Vikramāditya is said to have ruled from Ujjain around 1st century BCE. A section of scholars believe that this legendary Vikramaditya is not a historical figure at all. There are other kings who ruled from Ujjain and adopted the title "Vikramaditya", the most notable ones being Chandragupta II (r. 380 CE – 415 CE) and Yasodharman (6th century CE).

The most popular theory is that Kalidasa flourished during the reign of Chandragupta II, and therefore lived around 4th-5th century CE. Several Western scholars have supported this theory, since the days of William Jones and A. B. Keith. Many Indian scholars, such as Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi and Ram Gupta, also place Kalidasa in this period. According to this theory, his career might have extended to the reign of Kumaragupta I (r. 414 – 455 CE), and possibly, to that of Skandagupta (r. 455 – 467 CE).

The earliest paleographical evidence of Kalidasa is found in a Sanskrit inscription dated c. 473 CE, found at Mandsaur's Sun temple, with some verses that appear to imitate Meghaduta Purva, 66; and the Ritusamhara V, 2-3, although Kalidasa is not named. His name, along with that of the poet Bharavi, is also mentioned in a stone inscription dated 634 C.E. found at Aihole, located in present-day Karnataka.

Some scholars, including M. Srinivasachariar and T. S. Narayana Sastri, believe that all the works attributed to "Kalidasa" are not by a single person. According to Srinivasachariar, writers from 8th and 9th centuries hint at the existence of three noted literary figures that share the name Kalidasa. These writers include Devendra (author of "Kavi-Kalpa-Lata"), Rajashekhara and Abhinanda. Sastri lists the works of these three Kalidasas as follows:Sastri goes on to mention six other literary figures known by the name "Kalidasa": Parimala Kalidasa alias Padmagupta (author of "Navasahasanka Charita"), Kalidasa alias Yamakakavi (author of "Nalodaya"), Nava Kalidasa (author of "Champu Bhagavata"), Akbariya Kalidasa (author of several "samasya"s or riddles), Kalidasa VIII (author of "Lambodara Prahasana"), and Abhinava Kalidasa alias Madhava (author of "Sankshepa-Sankara-Vijayam").

According to K. Krishnamoorthy, "Vikramaditya" and "Kalidasa" were used as common nouns to describe any patron king and any court poet respectively.

Kālidāsa is the author of two epic poems, "Raghuvaṃśa" ("Dynasty of Raghu") and "Kumārasambhava" (Birth of 'Kumara' or Subrahmanya).Kālidāsa also wrote two "khandakavyas" (minor poems):Montgomery Schuyler, Jr. published a bibliography of the editions and translations of the drama Shakuntala while preparing his work "Bibliography of the Sanskrit Drama". Schuyler later completed his bibliography series of the dramatic works of Kālidāsa by compiling bibliographies of the editions and translations of Vikramorvaçī and Mālavikāgnimitra. Sir William Jones published English translation of "Sakuntala" in 1791 C.E. and "Rtusamhara" was published by him in original text during 1792 C.E.

Many scholars have written commentaries on the works of Kālidāsa. Among the most studied commentaries are those by Kolāchala Mallinātha Suri, which were written in the 15th century during the reign of the Vijayanagar king, Deva Rāya II. The earliest surviving commentaries appear to be those of the 10th-century Kashmirian scholar Vallabhadeva. Eminent Sanskrit poets like Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Jayadeva and Rajasekhara have lavished praise on Kālidāsa in their tributes. A well-known Sanskrit verse ("Upamā Kālidāsasya...") praises his skill at "upamā", or similes. Anandavardhana, a highly revered critic, considered Kālidāsa to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets ever. Of the hundreds of pre-modern Sanskrit commentaries on Kālidāsa's works, only a fraction have been contemporarily published. Such commentaries show signs of Kālidāsa's poetry being changed from its original state through centuries of manual copying, and possibly through competing oral traditions which ran alongside the written tradition.

Kālidāsa's "Abhijñānaśākuntalam" was one of the first works of Indian literature to become known in Europe. It was first translated to English and then from English to German, where it was received with wonder and fascination by a group of eminent poets, which included Herder and Goethe.

Kālidāsa's work continued to evoke inspiration among the artistic circles of Europe during the late 19th century and early 20th century, as evidenced by Camille Claudel's sculpture "Shakuntala".

Koodiyattam artist and Natya Shastra scholar Māni Mādhava Chākyār (1899–1990) choreographed and performed popular Kālidāsā plays including Abhijñānaśākuntala, Vikramorvaśīya and Mālavikāgnimitra.

The Kannada films "Mahakavi Kalidasa" (1955), featuring Honnappa Bagavatar, B. Sarojadevi and later "Kaviratna Kalidasa" (1983), featuring Rajkumar and Jayaprada, were based on the life of Kālidāsa. "Kaviratna Kalidasa" also used Kālidāsa's Shakuntala as a sub-plot in the movie.V. Shantaram made the Hindi movie "Stree" (1961) based on Kālidāsa's Shakuntala. R.R. Chandran made the Tamil movie "Mahakavi Kalidas" (1966) based on Kālidāsa's life. Chevalier Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan played the part of the poet himself. "Mahakavi Kalidasu" (Telugu, 1960) featuring Akkineni Nageswara Rao was similarly based on Kālidāsa's life and work.

Surendra Verma's Hindi play "Athavan Sarga", published in 1976, is based on the legend that Kālidāsa could not complete his epic "Kumārasambhava" because he was cursed by the goddess Parvati, for obscene descriptions of her conjugal life with Lord Shiva in the eighth canto. The play depicts Kālidāsa as a court poet of Chandragupta who faces a trial on the insistence of a priest and some other moralists of his time.

"Asti Kashchid Vagarthiyam" is a five-act Sanskrit play written by Krishna Kumar in 1984. The story is a variation of the popular legend that Kālidāsa was mentally challenged at one time and that his wife was responsible for his transformation. Kālidāsā, a mentally challenged shepherd, is married to Vidyottamā, a learned princess, through a conspiracy. On discovering that she has been tricked, Vidyottamā banishes Kālidāsa, asking him to acquire scholarship and fame if he desires to continue their relationship. She further stipulates that on his return he will have to answer the question, "Asti Kashchid Vāgarthah"" ("Is there anything special in expression?"), to her satisfaction. In due course, Kālidāsa attains knowledge and fame as a poet. Kālidāsa begins Kumārsambhava, Raghuvaṃśa and Meghaduta with the words "Asti" ("there is"), "Kashchit" ("something") and "Vāgarthah" ("spoken word and its meaning").

Bishnupada Bhattacharya's "Kalidas o Robindronath" is a comparative study of Kalidasa and the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.

"Ashadh Ka Ek Din" is a play based on fictionalized elements of Kalidasa life.

Kalidasa has had great influence on several Sanskrit works, on all Indian literature. He also had a great impact on Rabindranath Tagore. The Meghadutam's romanticism is found in Tagore's poems on the monsoons. Sanskrit plays by Kalidasa influenced late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century European literature. According to Dale Carnegie, Father of Modern Medicine Sir William Osler always kept on his desk a poem written by Kalidasa.


What makes an ice wine an ice wine?

Ice wine was first produced in Michigan in 1983 by Mark Johnson, who at the time was working at Chateau Grand Traverse and is currently the head winemaker at Chateau Chantal. Northern Michigan wineries follow some of the German practices that govern what wine qualifies as ice wine. German law dictates that ice wine must be picked only when the grapes are frozen on the vine, while United States law allows for wine to be sold as ice wine if the grapes are picked and then artificially frozen. Because of the impossibility of predicting nature, making ice wine requires a great deal of luck. The grapes are generally picked in December after prolonged below-freezing temperatures, to ensure they are frozen all the way through. But in warmer years the grapes cannot be picked until late into January. It can also be difficult to protect the grapes from birds and wind as they stay on the vine until after they are very ripe.

Michigan wine

Michigan wine refers to any wine that is made in the state of Michigan in the United States. As of 2013, there were under wine-grape cultivation and 101 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing of wine. According to another count there were 112 operating wineries in Michigan in 2007.

Wine and enotourism were estimated in 2007 to be a $300 million industry. Most of the quality bottled wine of Michigan is produced in the five American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) of Fennville AVA, Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, and the Tip of the Mitt AVA. There are also a few disjunct wineries in every region of the state, including some in the Upper Peninsula that have opened over the past several years.

In addition to grape wine, Michigan is a leader in the production of fruit wines such as cherry wine.

The traditional wines of Michigan were sweet wines, often made from grape varieties native to North America, such as the Catawba, Concord, and Niagara, or from hybrid grapes partly developed by crossing native species with "vinifera" grapes. North American native grapes have the advantage of being adapted to local growing conditions, with consequent high fruit yield. In addition, growers can switch back and forth between the production of sweet wine and grape juice. Of Michigan's under grape cultivation, only 12%,, were devoted to wine grapes as of 2007.

Michigan's wine industry dates from after the repeal of Prohibition. With large plantings of Concord in the southwest, mostly for the Welch Grape Juice Company, the state was well positioned to enter wine production. Four large wineries (out of eleven wineries established by 1946) came to produce almost all Michigan wine: La Salle Wine and Champagne Company which was established in Windsor, Ontario, and moved to Farmington, Michigan; the Bronte Champagne and Wines Company of Hartford; Michigan Wineries (now Tabor Hill Winery) of Buchanan; and St. Julian Winery, which was also established in Windsor, Ontario, on the Canadian shore across from Detroit during Prohibition and moved to Paw Paw, Michigan, after repeal.
To promote the local industry, Michigan law in the mid-20th century placed a tax of four cents per U.S. gallon on Michigan wine while other wine was taxed at 50 cents per U.S. gallon. Michigan wine of that era was, primarily, fermented to dryness, giving about 9% alcohol, and then fortified with California brandy to 16% alcohol. State laws considered this natural wine and allowed it to be sold in grocery and drug stores while fortified wines from out of state, produced to 18-20% alcohol, could only be sold from state liquor stores.

The wineries of Michigan specialized in sweet wine and fruit wine well into the 1970s. With the growth in demand, starting in the latter half of the 20th century, for locally grown and locally labeled U.S. fine wines, several existing Michigan makers of sweet wine experimented with upgrading their production, and new vintners entered the scene. Tabor Hill Winery, in southwest Michigan, opened in 1971 as the first Michigan winery specializing in "vinifera" wines. Only a few years later in 1974, Chateau Grand Traverse opened in the Traverse Bay region of Northern Michigan. A slow growth in the number of wineries and continued trials of different "vinifera" varieties continued well into the 2000s. Presently, various hybrid varieties are being looked at which could allow grape growing in the Upper Peninsula to expand significantly over the next several years.

Michigan contains five American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), regions whose wines share similar and distinct characteristics: Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula, and Tip of the Mitt. All five regions are located in proximity to Lake Michigan, and almost all of Michigan's wine grapes are grown within 25 miles (40 km) of the lake. The lake effect provides a favorable microclimate compared to interior regions of the state. The northern wine regions have a 145-day growing season while the southern ones have a 160-day season.

The Greater Traverse City area, which includes the peninsulas of Leelanau and Old Mission, is one of the primary wine regions of Michigan. The soil is sandy, with good drainage, and a lake-dominated climate allows a longer growing season than in most of the U.S. Midwest. Fifty-one percent of Michigan's wine grapes, including much of the state's "vinifera" grapes, are grown in this area.

The same advantages exist, to a slightly lesser degree, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan south of Grand Rapids in the Fennville and Lake Michigan Shore regions. Forty-five percent of Michigan's wine grapes are grown in this area.

Most of the grapes grown in Michigan are grown for "table" uses (like jelly and grape juice), not wine. Of 100,000 short tons of grapes produced in 2005, only 4,600 tons were used for wine-making. However, the proportion of vinifera grapes used in wine–making is increasing. In 2005, the wine industry pressed 2,640 tons of European "vinifera" grapes, 1,660 tons of hybrid varieties, and 300 tons of American varieties. European grapes grown include Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot noir, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot gris, and Riesling.

The climate of Greater Traverse City allows for the production of ice wine, which requires an early hard freeze so the fruit still on the vine can be harvested while frozen. A small number of wineries produce this style, although it is not possible every year. In 2002, for example, six Michigan wineries produced over 13,000 half-bottles of ice wine, a record at that time.

Michigan is one of the foremost U.S. states in the production of diverse varieties of bottled, fermented fruit wine. Fruit wine has a long history in Europe, especially in regions such as Poland and the Baltic states where grapes do not easily grow. In Michigan, apple wine and cherry wine are produced in the highest volume, but other fruit juices are fermented as well. Michigan is the leading state for tart cherry production (many Traverse City vineyards were formerly cherry orchards); a number of Michigan wineries produce cherry wine, spice cherry wine, and cherry-grape blends. Michigan is a North American leader in the production of fortified fruit wines and eau-de-vie (fruit brandy).

As with other states, the Michigan wine industry is seen as an attractive example of regional cuisine and is supported by tourists. More than 800,000 tourists visited Michigan wineries in 2005.

The wine industry in Michigan is supported by an agricultural research program at Michigan State University, which began experimental vineyards around the state in 1970 and established a winery on campus in 1972. The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council is a state agency established in 1985 to promote and support Michigan wineries. The state government has declared May to be "Michigan Wine Month."

A warming trend in the climate of the Great Lakes region could increase Michigan vinifera productivity and lead to a higher profile for Michigan wines. However, Michigan vineyards, particularly "vinifera" vineyards, remain vulnerable to late spring and early fall cold snaps, such as the killing frost of March, 2003, insufficient growing season heat to fully ripen the grapes, and rot or mildew originating from rainfall while the grapes are maturing. The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council has set a goal of of wine grape production and 3,000,000 cases of Michigan-produced wines annually by 2024, about 10 times current production. Consumption of Michigan wine has risen from 1.5% of all wine consumed in Michigan in 1997 to 5.2% in 2006, with the number of wineries rising from about 16 to 50 in the same period. Michigan liquor law revisions in 2005 affirmed the right of wineries to sell from their tasting rooms, ship wine directly to consumers, and sell directly to licensed retailers and restaurants, bypassing wholesale distributors.

As of 2018 there are 127 wineries operating in Michigan. A large number of these wineries operate within the five recognized viticultural areas of Michigan.

The Original Traverse City Cherry Festival began in 1925 as the Blessing of the Blossoms Festival. This festival was originally an event held in early May to attract tourists to Northern Michigan to view the cherry blossoms. In 1931 the Michigan Legislature renamed the festival the National Cherry Festival, and moved the event to the summer. The Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula revived this tradition in 2004 by hosting the Blossom Days Festival. The festival is a two-day event with a non-denominational ceremony taking place to bless the cherry and grape blossoms for the coming growing season. The 2011 Blossom Days event took place on May 14 and 15, and the Blessing of the Blossoms was performed by Bishop Bernard Hedba at Chateau Chantal.

Starting in 2010, Michigan International Speedway has hosted the annual Great Lakes Wine Festival. In 2011, 25 Michigan wineries and 17 breweries attended this event. The 2011 Great Lakes Wine Festival was a three-day event from Friday, May 20, through Sunday, May 22. The festival offers the opportunity to taste Michigan wine from all over the state while wineries demonstrate food pairings. MIS has camping available for festival goers to spend the entire weekend.

The Paw Paw Wine and Harvest Festival is a three-day event held on the second weekend of September in Paw Paw, Michigan.

In 2010, "USA Today" named Traverse City one of "10 great places for local wines".

Ice wine (or icewine; ) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape juice to develop. The grapes' must is pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine. With ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. Unlike the grapes from which other dessert wines are made, such as Sauternes, Tokaji, or Trockenbeerenauslese, ice wine grapes should not be affected by "Botrytis cinerea" or noble rot, at least not to any great degree. Only healthy grapes keep in good shape until the opportunity arises for an ice wine harvest, which in extreme cases can occur after the New Year, on a northern hemisphere calendar. This gives ice wine its characteristic refreshing sweetness balanced by high acidity. When the grapes are free of "Botrytis", they are said to come in "clean".

Ice wine

Ice wine production is risky (the frost may not come at all before the grapes rot or are otherwise lost) and requires the availability of a large enough labour force to pick the whole crop within a few hours, at a moment's notice, on the first morning that is cold enough. This results in relatively small amounts of ice wine being made worldwide, making ice wines generally expensive.

Ice wine production is limited to that minority of the world's wine-growing regions where the necessary cold temperatures can be expected to be reached with some regularity. Canada and Germany are the world's largest producers of ice wines. About 75 percent of the ice wine in Canada comes from Ontario.

There are indications that frozen grapes were used to make wine in Roman times. Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – 79) wrote that certain grape varieties were not harvested before the first frost had occurred. The poet Martial recommended that grapes should be left on the vine until November or until they were stiff with frost. Details as to the winemaking and description of these wines are unknown. It cannot be completely ruled out that the descriptions refer to dried grape wines, a common style of wine in Roman times, where the raisin-like grapes were harvested late enough for the first frost to have fallen. In either case, the method seems later to have been forgotten. Wine from Chiomonte in the Val di Susa was popular in Roman times and this town still today produces one of Italy's few ice wines.

It is believed that the first post-Roman ice wine was made in Franconia in Germany in 1794. Better documentation exists for an ice-wine harvest in Dromersheim close to Bingen in Rheinhessen on February 11, 1830. The grapes were of the 1829 vintage. That winter was harsh and some wine growers had the idea to leave grapes hanging on the vine for use as animal fodder. When it was noticed that these grapes yielded very sweet must, they were pressed and an Ice wine was produced. Sweet wines produced from late harvested grapes were well-established as the most valued German wine style by the early 19th century, following the discovery of Spätlese at Schloss Johannisberg in Rheingau in 1775, and the subsequent introduction of the Auslese designation. These wines would usually be produced from grapes affected by noble rot. Thus, Eiswein is a more recent German wine style than the botrytised wines.

Throughout the 19th century and until 1960, Eiswein harvests were a rare occurrence in Germany. Only six 19th century vintages with Eiswein harvests have been documented, including 1858, the first Eiswein at Schloss Johannisberg. There seems to have been little effort to systematically produce these wines during this period, and their production was probably the rare result of freak weather conditions. It was the invention of the pneumatic bladder press which made the production of ice wine practical and led to a substantial increase in the frequency and quantity of production. 1961 saw the production of a number of German ice wines, and the wine increased in popularity in the following years. The production has also been assisted by other technological inventions in the form of electrical lighting driven by portable generators (to assist harvest in the cold hours of early-morning darkness, before the sun rises and the grapes can thaw), remotely controlled temperature alarms (after a re-thawing the grapes will spoil very quickly since ice crystals will have destroyed the cell walls; thus the harvest has to be completed within a few hours on the first morning that is cold enough) and plastic films that are used for "packaging" the vines during the waiting period between ripeness and first frost, in order to protect the ripe grapes from being eaten by birds.

In Germany in the early 2000s, good ice-wine vintages have been less common than during the 1980s and 1990s. Many wine-growers cite climate change as a cause, a position supported by a study conducted by the Geisenheim Institute.

The pioneer status of the Inniskillin winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, led to their first ice wine, produced in 1984 under the direction of the winery's Austrian-born co-owner Karl Kaiser, often being mentioned as Canada's first ice wine. However, ice wine was produced in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia by German immigrant Walter Hainle in 1972. This ice wine was the result of an early and unexpected frost, and yielded 40 litres of wine, which Hainle originally did not intend to sell, although he did so in 1978. In 1983, Karl Kaiser and Inniskillin's German neighbour Ewald Reif, as well as two wineries with Austrian winemakers located in another part of Ontario, Hillebrand and Pelee Island, all left grapes on their vines in order to try to produce ice wine. Inniskillin and Reif lost their entire crop to hungry birds, while Hillebrand and Pelee Island were able to harvest a minuscule amount of frozen grapes. In 1984, Kaiser used nets to protect his vines and was able to produce Inniskillin's first ice wine. This wine was made from Vidal grapes and was, in fact, labelled "Eiswein".

After the ice wine production was set on the commercial footing, Canadian ice wine quickly became popular with domestic consumers and reviewers, many other Canadian producers and regions picked up the idea since the harsh Canadian winters lend themselves well to large-scale production. The international breakthrough of Canadian ice wine came in 1991, when Inniskillin's 1989 Vidal ice wine won the "Grand Prix d’Honneur" at Vinexpo. The Canadian trend towards increased cultivation of "Vitis vinifera" (European) grape varieties in the 1990s expanded the palette of varieties available to be bitten by frost. By the early 2000s, Canada was established as the largest producer of ice wine in the world. In 2001, the EU allowed the importation of Canadian ice wine hence recognizing the standard equivalency. More international recognition came in 2007, when Monde Selection, the international institute in Brussels, Belgium, awarded during the International Wine Contest, the Grand Gold medal—its highest honor, rarely accorded to a wine—to Canada’s Northern Ice Vidal blanc Icewine 2005, the first vintage of The Ice House in Niagara, a winery founded by winemaker Jamie Macfarlane.

In contrast to most other wine-producing regions, Canada, particularly the Niagara Peninsula, consistently undergoes freezing in winter and has become the world's largest ice wine producer. It is now produced in all wine growing provinces of Canada, notably in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Ice wine production in Canada is regulated by the Vintners Quality Alliance in the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario. If the sugar level in the grapes measures less than 35° Brix, then they may not be used for ice wine, a minimum considerably higher than that of German Eiswein. These grapes are often downgraded to a lower designation, such as Special Select Late Harvest or Select Late Harvest. Canadian rules were further tightened in British Columbia in 2000 after a producer dealt with the mild winter of 1999 by moving grapes up to the mountains to seek freezing temperatures.

Though Pelee Island Winery and Hillebrand were Canada's first commercial ice wine producers, starting production in 1983, Inniskillin Wines is considered the most widely known Canadian ice wine producer as the first Canadian winery to win a major international award, the Grand Prix d’Honneur at 1991 Vinexpo in France, with their 1989 Vidal Icewine (which was technically an illegal import into the EU), placing Canadian ice wines on the world stage. Pillitteri Estates Winery has emerged in the 2000s as the world’s largest estate ice wine producer. In November 2006 the Canadian producer Royal DeMaria released five cases of Chardonnay ice wine with a half-bottle price set at C$ 30,000, making it the world's most expensively priced wine.

The most famous (and expensive) ice wines are German "Eiswein", but ice wine is also made in European countries such as Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland at least in smaller quantity. "Eiswein" is part of the "Prädikatswein" quality category in the German wine classification. The French language term "Vin de glace" is part of the wine classification in Luxembourg, but not in France, but is sometimes found on the rare bottles of ice wine produced in Alsace. In most of France, the climate is too warm for ice wine production.

The Furano region of Central Hokkaido, Japan, produces an ice wine each winter at the Furano Winery. Because such a small amount can be made each year, it is produced in limited batches and sold only at the cellar door, 3.3 kilometres from Furano Station. The Furano Wine ice wine is produced only in red.

Great Western Winery in the Finger Lakes region of New York produced the first U.S. ice wine in 1981.
Select wineries in Northern Michigan put aside a portion of their Riesling grapes each year for the production of ice wine. Ice wine was first produced in Michigan in 1983 by Mark Johnson, who studied at the Federal Research Station and Institute in Geisenheim, Germany. Johnson is currently the head winemaker at Chateau Chantal. Northern Michigan wineries continue to follow the German laws that govern what wine qualifies as ice wine. German law dictates that ice wine must be picked only when the grapes are frozen on the vine. In 2002, six Michigan wineries produced over 13,000 half-bottles of ice wine, a record at that time.
A growing number of wineries near Lake Erie, especially in Pennsylvania, New York, and Ashtabula County, Ohio, also produce ice wine.

The United States law for ice wines also specifies that the grapes must be naturally frozen. The TTB (Tax and Trade Bureau) regulations state that "Wine made from grapes frozen after harvest may not be labeled with the term 'ice wine' or any variation thereof, and if the wine is labeled to suggest it was made from frozen grapes, the label must be qualified to show that the grapes were frozen postharvest."

Natural ice wines require a hard freeze (by law in Canada −8 °C (17 °F) or colder, and in Germany or colder), to occur sometime after the grapes are ripe, which means that the grapes may hang on the vine for several months following the normal harvest. If a freeze does not come quickly enough, the grapes may rot and the crop will be lost. If the freeze is too severe, no juice can be extracted. Vineland Winery in Ontario once broke their pneumatic press in the 1990s while pressing the frozen grapes because they were too hard (the temperature was close to −20 °C). The longer the harvest is delayed, the more fruit will be lost to wild animals and dropped fruit. Since the fruit must be pressed while it is still frozen, pickers often must work at night or very early in the morning, harvesting the grapes within a few hours, while cellar workers must work in unheated spaces.

In Austria, Germany, the United States, and Canada, the grapes must freeze naturally to be called ice wine. In other countries, some winemakers use cryoextraction (that is, mechanical freezing) to simulate the effect of a frost and typically do not leave the grapes to hang for extended periods as is done with natural ice wines. These non-traditional wines are sometimes referred to as "icebox wines". An example is Bonny Doon's "Vin de Glacière" or King Estate's Vin Glace (made from Oregon Pinot gris grapes). German wine law entirely bans post-harvest freezing methods, even if not labeled "Eiswein".

The high sugar level in the must leads to a slower-than-normal fermentation. It may take months to complete the fermentation (compared to days or weeks for regular wines) and special strains of yeasts should be used. Because of the lower yield of grape musts and the difficulty of processing, ice wines are significantly more expensive than table wines. They are often sold in half-bottle volume (375 ml) or the even smaller 200ml bottle. New World wineries in particular sometimes bottle 200 ml and 50 ml gift packages.

The minimum must weight requirements for ice wine is as follows, in the measures used in the respective country:

Cryoextraction is the process by which grapes are frozen with refrigeration and pressed. Winemakers subject grapes to temperatures around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (or −7 degrees Celsius), and press them while still frozen. Ice crystals remain in the press, while concentrated juice flows out. The resulting wine resembles ice wine. The process of "freeze distillation" is similar in its concentrating effects, although it occurs after fermentation.

Typical grapes used for ice wine production are Riesling, considered to be the noblest variety by German winemakers; Vidal, highly popular in Ontario, Canada; and the red grape Cabernet Franc. Many vintners, especially from the New World, are experimenting with making ice wine from other varieties: whites such as Seyval blanc, Chardonnay, Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Chenin blanc, Pinot blanc, and Ehrenfelser; or reds such as Merlot, Pinot noir, and even Cabernet Sauvignon. Pillitteri Estates Winery from the Niagara-on-the-Lake region of Ontario claim to be the first winery in the world producing Shiraz (Syrah) ice wine with the 2004 vintage, Semillion, and Sangiovese in 2007.

Ice wines from white varieties tend to be pale yellow or light gold in color when they are young and can maderise (acquiring a deep amber-golden color) as they age. The red varieties tend to have a light burgundy or even pink color like that of rosé wines, since the steeping of the skins in the pressed liquid typically used in red wine making is obviously not possible in ice wine production.

Even though it is normal for residual sugar content in ice wine to run from 180 g/L up to as high as 320 g/L (with a mean in the 220 g/L range), ice wine is very refreshing (as opposed to cloying) due to high acidity. (The titratable acidity in ice wine is almost always above 10 g/L.)

Ice wine usually has a slightly lower alcohol content than regular table wine. Some Riesling ice wines from Germany have an alcohol content as low as 6%. Ice wines produced in Canada usually have higher alcohol content, between 8 and 13 percent. In most years, ice wines from Canada generally have higher brix degree (must weight) compared to those from Germany. This is largely due to the more consistent winters in Canada. Must with insufficient brix level cannot be made into ice wine, and is thus often sold as "special select late harvest" or "select late harvest" at a fraction of the price that true ice wine commands.