Scandi wines hope to win over connoisseurs

Sipping a glass of local wine is probably not something that comes to mind when visiting Scandinavia, but this colder northern region is becoming a new winemaking frontier.

Hundreds of commercial vineyards are now dotted throughout Denmark, Sweden and even Norway as the first generation of professional winemakers turned what was once a niche hobby into a small but thriving industry.

Far north of France’s Bordeaux or California’s Napa Valley, more than 10,000 vines grow on the hillside of Zeeland, Denmark’s largest island.

“People have found out that you can actually grow wine in Denmark, so newcomers are coming year after year,” Nina Fink says as she shows the BBC her three-hectare (seven-acre) Vejrhøj Vingård winery.

Nina and her husband Nils started their business 13 years ago, after retiring from business in Copenhagen. They grow mostly green grapes, producing floral white wines as well as sparkling and rosé wines.

“We have longer summer days with more sunlight than France or Italy, so the conditions are different,” she explains.

For most Scandinavian vineyards, the grape of choice is Solaris, an aromatic hybrid variety that is well adapted to cold climates, ripens easily and is more disease resistant, which avoids spraying vineyards with pesticides.

The grape was first bred in Germany in 1975, but was adopted in Scandinavia only in 2004, after which winemaking began to develop.

Nils Fink says that people are very surprised when they taste the wine from Vejrhøj Vingård. “There’s a little twinkle in their eyes, then a half-smile,” he smiles. – People like it.

The Finns sell their bottles directly from the winery, but they also supply some of Copenhagen’s best restaurants, including Geranium, which has been awarded three Michelin stars.

Originally producing just 4,000 bottles a year, they now sell 20,000. “We’re limited by the supply we can offer,” Mr Fink says.

Commercial vineyards in Denmark and Sweden have only been allowed under European Union regulations since 2000. Winemaking revived around 2010, seeing a transition from hobbyist to more ambitious production.

Curiosity and the fact that “it’s possible” attracted winemakers, explains Jean Becker of the Danish Wine Association.

“I was one of those who started in 2000. We were six growers,” says Mr. Becker, standing in his vineyard 25 km (15 miles) north of Copenhagen.

There are now 150 commercial wineries in Denmark with a total area of ​​125 hectares of vines, as well as more than 1,000 hobby growers.

Meanwhile, Sweden has 47 commercial operators covering 193 hectares, according to the Swedish Wine Association, with the largest having 125,000 vines.

“I started with 500 vines,” said Jean Becker, “today new winegrowers start with 15,000-25,000. They start on a larger scale. Is there a market for it? The answer is yes.”

But it is an industry in its infancy compared to the 800,000 hectares under cultivation in France and almost a million hectares in Spain.

In southern Zealand, Jesper Rye Jensen, who runs Vesterhave Vingaard, makes red wines from varieties usually associated with France, such as Pinot Noir and Merlot.

“It’s very difficult because it’s new for us,” he says. “We have to learn it. It’s not like southern Europe, where they’ve had it for generations.”

The data shows that average temperatures in both Denmark and Sweden have almost risen two degrees Celsius over the past 40-50 years, which has led to milder winters and a longer fruit growing season. But there is still a risk of frost damage.

Jesper Rai Jensen says that as a northern wine producer, climate change is working in his favor. “We winemakers in Denmark are happy to have a bit better weather.”

But Nils Fink believes that climate warming is a double-edged sword. “Climate change is accompanied by a wide variety of agreements, such as more extreme weather events, prolonged drought, heavy rains. It is no less threatening here, as in other places.”

However, Professor Torben Bo Toldam-Andersen, a fruit science researcher at the University of Copenhagen, says the growth of Scandinavian wineries was largely driven by the emergence of new, stronger varieties rather than longer growing seasons. grapes. “Climate change is certainly making it easier, but the main factor is new varieties.”

He runs a program called “FastGrapes” that tests grape varieties to find the hardiest and most suitable for northern Europe.

They are selected depending on how quickly the grapes ripen and resistance to pests, diseases and other environmental influences. New seedlings can then be grown on a larger scale.

“There are so many things that go into the perfect wine,” says the researcher. “Part of that search happens in the lab … you can see the genes that make it strong.”

The first selected vines are now growing in 15 test locations in Scandinavia, Lithuania, northern Germany and Belgium.

But even with the best possible grape varieties and warmer weather, Scandinavian wineries face many challenges, such as high labor costs and strict regulations on the use of chemical treatments to combat any disease in the vineyards.

Romain Chicheri says wineries can also struggle to find workers. Born and raised in France, he moved to Sweden shortly after completing his studies in winemaking and viticulture.

The 27-year-old winemaker now works at the Thora vineyard on the Biare Peninsula in the southwest of the country. “We need to train the workers, otherwise we have to bring them in from outside (the country),” he says.

But “starting from scratch” in Sweden, he adds, he likes the freedom to experiment. “It’s not just a copycat that’s been done for decades or centuries in the old world of viticulture.”

Thora’s owner, American expat Heather Oberg, says all the effort and expense is worth it. “We can compete with other European wines,” she says.

However, home-made Scandinavian wine currently only accounts for a fraction of the consumer market, and bottles are expensive. Danish wine in Denmark costs from 200 kroner ($27; £22) a bottle, more than double the cheapest imports from France and Spain. Only a small amount is exported.

“We never compete with France, Italy and Spain because they have very low prices,” says Mr Becker.

At his central Copenhagen wine shop, Vino Fino, owner Nicolai Christiansen mainly sells French wine. However, he says he recently sold a case of Danish wine to a bar owner in France.

“If you can sell it to a Frenchman, you can probably sell it to everybody,” he jokes.

However, he still needs to be convinced about the Danish wine. “Danish wine is still too expensive,” he says. “It is getting closer, but I still think there is still something to do before the quality will be.”