BBC
Climate change and more resilient grapes help Denmark and Sweden build a wine sector
Sipping a glass of local wine probably isn't what comes to mind when you visit Scandinavia, but this colder northern region is becoming a new wine frontier.
Hundreds of commercial vineyards are now scattered across Denmark, Sweden and even Norway, as a first generation of professional winemakers transforms what was once a niche hobby into a small but thriving industry.
Far north from Bordeaux in France or Napa Valley in California, more than 10,000 vines grow on a hillside on Zealand, Denmark's largest island.
“People have discovered that it's actually possible to grow wine in Denmark, so new people are coming year after year,” says Nina Fink, showing the BBC her three-hectare (seven-acre) winery, Vejrhøj Vingård .
Nina and her husband Niels started the business 13 years ago, after retiring from their corporate jobs in Copenhagen. They mainly grow green grapes, producing floral white wines, as well as sparkling and rosé.
“We have longer summer days with more sun than in France or Italy, so the conditions are different,” she explains.
For most Scandinavian vineyards, solaris is the grape of choice – an aromatic hybrid variety well suited to colder climates, ripening easily and more resistant to disease, allowing vineyards to avoid pesticide spraying.
This grape variety was first created in Germany in 1975, but was not adopted in Scandinavia until 2004, after which winemaking took off.
Niels Fink says people are positively surprised when they taste Vejrhøj Vingård wines. “There’s a little twinkle in their eyes, and then comes this half-smile,” he laughs. “People like it.”
The Finks sell their bottles directly from the winery, but they also supply some of Copenhagen's best restaurants, including the three Michelin-starred Geranium.
Initially they produced only 4,000 bottles a year, but now sell 20,000. “We are limited by the supply we are able to offer,” Mr Fink says.
Nina Fink and her husband Niels established their vineyard after retiring in Copenhagen
Commercial vineyards in Denmark and Sweden have only been permitted under European Union rules since 2000. Winemaking resumed around 2010, with amateur winemakers shifting to more ambitious production.
Curiosity and the fact that “it’s possible” attracted wine entrepreneurs, says Jean Becker of the Danish Wine Association.
“I was one of those who started in 2000. There were six of us winemakers,” says Mr. Becker, standing in his vineyard 25 kilometers north of Copenhagen.
Today there are 150 commercial wineries in Denmark totaling 125 hectares of vines, as well as more than 1,000 amateur winemakers.
Sweden, meanwhile, has 47 commercial growers covering 193 hectares, according to the Swedish Wine Association, and the largest has 125,000 vines.
“I started with 500 vines,” explains Jean Becker. “Today, new winegrowers are starting with 15,000 to 25,000 vines. They are starting on a larger scale. Is there a market for that? The answer is yes.”
But it is an industry that is still in its infancy, compared to the 800,000 hectares cultivated in France, and nearly a million hectares in Spain.
In southern Zealand, Jesper Rye Jensen, who runs Vesterhave Vingaard, produces red wines from grape varieties like Pinot Noir and Merlot, usually associated with France.
“It’s very difficult because it’s new to us,” he says. “We have to learn it. It's not like in southern Europe, where there were generation after generation.”
Data shows that Denmark and Sweden have seen average temperatures rise by almost two degrees Celsius over the past 40 to 50 years, leading to milder winters and a longer fruit growing season. But there remains a risk of frost damage.
Jesper Rye Jensen says that as a northern wine producer, climate change is working in its favor. “We Danish wine growers are happy that the weather is getting a little better.”
But Niels Fink believes that global warming is a double-edged sword. “Climate change brings all sorts of ills, such as more extreme weather, long droughts, heavy rains. It's as threatening here as anywhere else.”
Thora wine estate
Vineyards in southern Sweden and Denmark enjoy long hours of sunshine in summer
However, Professor Torben Bo Toldam-Andersen, a fruit science researcher at the University of Copenhagen, says that rather than a longer growing season, it was the emergence of new, hardier grapes that largely boosted the growth of Scandinavian vineyards. “Climate change is certainly making things easier, but the main driver is new cultivars.”
He runs a program called “FastGrapes”, which tests varieties of vines, to find the most robust and best adapted to Northern Europe.
They are selected based on how quickly their grapes ripen and their resistance to pests, diseases and other environmental stresses. New plants can then be grown on a larger scale.
“There are so many things that go into making a perfect wine,” explains the researcher. “Some of this research is happening in the lab… you can see the genes that make it strong.”
The first selected vines are now growing on 15 test sites in Scandinavia, Lithuania, northern Germany and Belgium.
But even with the best possible grape varieties and warmer weather, Scandinavian vineyards face many challenges, such as high labor costs and strict rules on the use of chemical treatments to combat any disease in the vineyards.
Romain Chichery says it can also be difficult for wineries to find workers. Born and raised in France, he moved to Sweden shortly after completing his studies in winemaking and viticulture.
Now 27 years old, the winemaker works at Thora Vineyard, on the Bjäre peninsula, in the southwest of the country. “We have to train the workers, or we have to bring them in from outside (the country),” he says.
But “starting from scratch” in Sweden, he adds that he enjoys the freedom to experiment. “It’s not just copy and paste, as has been done for decades, even centuries, in the older world of viticulture.”
Thora's owner, American expat Heather Öberg, says all the effort and expense is worth it. “We can compete with other European wines,” she says.
Yet locally produced Scandinavian wine currently represents only 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 price of the cheapest French and Spanish imports. Only a negligible quantity is exported.
“We will 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 sells mainly French wine. Yet he claims to have 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 everyone,” he jokes.
However, he is not yet convinced about Danish wine. “Danish wine is still too expensive,” he says. “It's coming. But I still think there's still a way to go before the quality is there.”
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