Swedish wine, in terms of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

produced commercially from

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

grown in Sweden, is a very marginal but growing industry which saw its first beginnings in the late 1990s. In less strict usage, the term "Swedish wine" has also been applied to fruit wine from Sweden, which has a very long tradition, and wine produced in Sweden from imported grape juice, which goes back longer than actual

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

in Sweden.

History

Sweden is well north of the area where the European

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

, ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

'', occurs naturally, and there is no tradition of wine production from grapes in the country. Some sources claim that some monastic

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s were established when the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

established monasteries in Sweden in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

times, when Sweden's climate was milder, but traces of this supposed viticulture are much less evident than the corresponding activities in England, for example. Small-scale growing of grapes in Swedish

orangeries An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

and other greenhouses has occurred for a long time, but the purpose of such plantations was to provide table grapes as fruit or for decoration or exhibition purposes, and not to provide grapes for wine production. Towards the end of the 20th century, commercial viticulture slowly crept north, into areas beyond the well-established wine regions, as evidenced by

Canadian wine Canadian wine is wine produced in Canada. Ontario and British Columbia are the two largest wine-producing provinces in Canada, with two-thirds of the Canada's vineyard acreage situated in Ontario. However, wine producing regions are also present i ...

English wine The United Kingdom is a major consumer of wine, but a minor though growing producer. Wine production in the UK has historically been perceived as less than ideal due to the cold climate, but warmer summers and grapes adapted to these condit ...

and

Danish wine Danish wine is wine made in Denmark. Grapes Despite its northerly location, Denmark has been fostering a developing wine industry since the late 20th century that has benefited from global warming and the legalization of wine production in 1999. ...

. This trend was partially made possible by the use of new

hybrid grape Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more ''Vitis'' species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically ''Vitis vinifera'', the European grapevine. Hybrid grap ...

varieties, partially by new viticultural techniques, and partially by

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. The idea of commercial freeland viticulture in Sweden appeared in the 1990s. Some pioneers, especially in Skåne (Scania), took their inspiration from nearby Denmark, where viticulture started earlier than in Sweden, while others took their inspiration from experiences in other winemaking countries.Dagens Nyheter, April 23, 2007: Skåne på väg bli vindistrikt
(''"Scania on its way to becoming a wine region"'') Perhaps surprisingly, the first two wineries of some size were not established in the far south of Sweden, but in

Södermanland County Södermanland County ( sv, Södermanlands län) is a county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is th ...

close to

Flen Flen (local pronunciation ''Flén'') is a locality and the seat of Flen Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 6,229 inhabitants in 2010. Flen evolved as a railway junction and got the title of a city in 1949. Since 1971 it is the seat o ...

(in an area where

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

s were common), and on the island of Gotland, which has the largest number of sunshine hours in Sweden. Later expansions have mostly been in

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

. There are also small-scale viticulturalists who grow their grapes in greenhouses rather than in the open. Small quantities of a few commercial Swedish wines were sold by Systembolaget from the early 2000s.

Modern industry

Only a handful of Swedish producers can be considered to be commercial operations, rather than hobby wine makers. In 2006, the

Swedish Board of Agriculture The Swedish Board of Agriculture ( sv, Statens jordbruksverk, commonly known as ''Jordbruksverket'') is a Government agency in Sweden that answers to the Ministry of Agriculture. The agency headquarters is located in Jönköping. It is responsi ...

counted four Swedish companies that commercialized wine produced from their own vineyards. The total production was , of which were red and white, and this amount was produced from around of vineyards. The Association of Swedish winegrowers estimates 30-40 vinegrowing establishments in Scania, but this number includes hobby growers with a fraction of a hectare of vineyards.Föreningen Svenska Vinodlare: Vingårdar
- as of July 8, 2009, 26 of the members of the Association of Swedish winegrowers had elected to be listed on the Association's webpage

Regulations

As a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, wine production in Sweden has to abide by the

European Union wine regulations European Union wine regulations are common legislation related to wine existing within the European Union (EU),grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

.SJVFS 2007:18 Föreskrifter om ändring i Statens jordbruksverks föreskrifter (SJVFS 2003:31) om uppgifter om vinodling, klassificering av druvsorter för vin-framställning och om skördedeklaration
However, there are no protected designations of origin for Swedish wine, which means that Swedish producers are restricted to marketing

table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortifi ...

s, and can not market quality wines. This means several restrictions on labeling practices. For example, the

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

year may not be mentioned on the label.

Grape varieties

The following

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

are authorized for commercial wine production in Sweden: White grapes *

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. Variants * Blanche: French * Bianca: Italian * Bianka ( Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, German, English, French, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, C ...

* Chardonnay * Kerner * Madeleine Angevine 7672 * Malingre Précoce * Merzling *

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine ...

* Orion * Ortega *

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Reichensteiner Reichensteiner is a white wine grape that is mainly grown in Germany ( ''(2008 fig.)''), England ( ''(2010 fig.)''),Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

* Sauvignon blanc *

Seyval blanc Seyval blanc (or Seyve-Villard hybrid number 5276winepros.com.au ) is a hybrid wine grape variety used to make white wines. Its vines ripen early, are productive and are suited to fairly cool climates. Seyval blanc is grown mainly in England,win ...

Siegerrebe Siegerrebe (literally "Victory vine" in German) is a white wine grape that is grown primarily in Germany with some plantings in England, Vancouver Island,Jancis Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wine'' pg 253 Octopus Publishing 1986 Washington state,R. ...

* Solaris *

Vidal blanc Vidal blanc (or simply Vidal) is a white hybrid grape variety produced from the '' Vitis vinifera'' variety Ugni blanc (also known as Trebbiano Toscano) and another hybrid variety, Rayon d'Or (Seibel 4986). It is a very winter-hardy variety that ...

* Zalas Perle Red grapes *

Acolon Acolon is a German wine grape variety, a cross between Blauer Lemberger (Blaufränkisch) and Dornfelder. J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 3 Oxford University Press 2006 It was created in 1971 at the ''Staa ...

Cabernet Dorsa Cabernet Dorsa is a dark-skinned variety of grape used for red wine. It was created at a grape breeding institute in Weinsberg in the Württemberg wine region of Germany in 1971 by crossing the Blaufränkisch and Dornfelder varieties. The origina ...

* Cabernet Franc * Frühburgunder *

Garanoir Garanoir is a variety (botany), variety of red wine grape (wine), grape.Garanoir
, Vitis International ...

Léon Millot Léon Millot (sometimes called "Leon Millot Rouge" (or "Foster's Leon") to distinguish it from "Leon Millot Noir" (a.k.a. "Wagner's Leon") which many breeders believe to be ) is a red variety of hybrid grape used for wine.Merlot * Pinot noir *

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

References

{{Wine by country Agriculture in Sweden