Swedish wine, in terms of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

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 approximately 8,0 ...

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 Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients (other than grapes); they may also have additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any alcohol ...

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 (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing 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 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 themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

, ''

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

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

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s were established when the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

established monasteries in Sweden in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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 and other

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s 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 northwards, 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 and territories of Canada, provinces in Canada, with two-thirds of Canada's vineyard acreage situated in Ontario. However, wine pro ...

, English wine and Danish wine. This trend was partially made possible by the use of new

hybrid grape Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a Hybrid (biology), 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 grape ...

varieties, partially by new viticultural techniques, and partially by

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. The idea of commercial freeland viticulture in Sweden appeared in the 1990s. Some pioneers, especially in

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

(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 (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, 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 the ...

close to Flen (in an area where

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s were common), and on the island of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

, 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 of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. 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 (, "the System Company"), colloquially known as ("the system") or ("the company"), is a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol by ...

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 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, wine production in Sweden has to abide by the European Union wine regulations. However, as the total commercial vineyard area in Sweden stayed below , Sweden did not have to apply for planting rights. Since this part of the regulations was abolished in 2015, Sweden was never affected by them. So far, Sweden has only enacted a minimum of national laws and regulations related to viticulture, which include a list of allowed

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 ''V ...

.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 The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union, geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related produ ...

for Swedish wine, which means that Swedish producers are restricted to marketing table wines, and can not market quality wines. This means several restrictions on labeling practices. For example, the vintage year may not be mentioned on the label.

Grape varieties

The following

are authorized for commercial wine production in Sweden:

White grapes

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

* Bianca *

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

* 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 Made ...

* Orion * Ortega * Phoenix * Reichensteiner *

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 ...

* Sauvignon blanc * Seyval blanc * Siegerrebe * Solaris *

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

* Zalas Perle

Red grapes

* Acolon * Cabernet Dorsa *

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

* Frühburgunder * Garanoir * Léon Millot *

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Rondo The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (music), theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "c ...

References

{{Sweden topics Swedish drinks Agriculture in Sweden Wine by country