Wikipedia Article About Late harvest wine on Wikipedia Late harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine such as late harvest riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine. For German late harvest wines see spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese, and for wines frozen on the vine see icewine.