VITICULTURE in the Land of the Midnight Sun

By Gary Symons

Canadian winemakers are famous for turning out superb wines in some of the toughest conditions in the world, but there’s now a new and rising wine region that takes the cake for cold climate wines. While it seems unlikely, even impossible, intrepid winemakers in Scandinavia are building out their own wine region in a landscape known for its long winter nights and bone-chilling cold.

It would be hard to find a more unique terroir in the world. Wineries in Sweden, Norway and Finland experience 23 hours of sunlight in the summer, and the same amount of darkness in winter. Some of the wineries are above the 60th parallel, making them the most northerly in the world.

Also, some wineries are turning their frigid temperatures into a bonus, as they create ice wine styled products that can compete with Canada’s famous and extremely profitable ice wine. The Blaxsta winery near Stockholm, for example, grows their grapes in the 23 hours of sunlight in summer, and then harvests them in the dark, frigid days of December, after which they are sold to Michelin restaurants across Europe.

Growers and winemakers in Scandinavia are working hard to turn their small wine production region into a multi-billion dollar industry. In Sweden, for example, there were only 150 hectares in production in 2022, but that’s 50 per cent more than just two years ago. Sweden’s winemakers predict their growing region will more than double in size within five years, and eventually could grow to more than 10,000 hectares.

The same thing is happening in Denmark, Norway and even frosty Finland. A good example is the Slinde Vineyard in Norway, located at the 61st parallel, well north of the 30 to 50 degrees latitude that is typical of wine production. Married winemakers Bjorn and Halldis Bergum have been working on their vineyard and winery since 2014. “When we found the most suitable land for our vineyard, we immediately started working and now we have won several gold medals in blind wine tasting competitions with acclaimed wine critics on the panel,” said Bjorn Bergum. “Our white wines based on the Solaris grape has won several times and our very special Solarissa (Solaris) has gotten the highest score so far. Our red wine has fared very well too, giving us a gold medal for our wine based on Leon Milot.”

And while producing wine near the North Pole may seem unlikely, Bergum says the location has some advantages.

“It is cold at night and hot during the day in our summers and it is light outside almost 24 hours,” Bergum says. “We therefore have the perfect climate to make unique wines ... as long as we ripen the grapes.”

And speaking of grapes, the experience of winemakers in Scandinavia may hold lessons for viticulturists in Canada.

One aspect of wine production is that the climate is changing, as global warming makes it viable to grow wine grapes in northerly regions, but the other factors come down to technique and the selection of cold hardy varietals. The most common grape throughout Scandinavia is the Solaris, a white varietal first released in 1975 by the Feiburg Wine Institute in Germany. Winemakers say Solaris has a taste profile similar to Sauvignon blanc, and that it’s well suited to high-end sparkling wines.

There’s also the Rondo varietal used for red wine, although much of the production in Scandinavia is steered toward rosé wines.

Other unique grapes include Pinot Noir Précoce, a Pinot Noir mutation that matures three weeks earlier; Cabernet Cortis, a crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Solaris; Souvignier Gris, a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Bronner; and Muscaris, a green grape with a muscat flavour that can achieve very high levels of sugar.

Lotta Nordmark, a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, says grapes that are both cold and disease resistant have been critical to the success of Scandinavian wines. “Wine connoisseurs are interested in Swedish wines because the grapes have a long development period, high acidity that builds an interesting sensory palette and already now Swedish wines are gaining ground in international wine-tasting competitions,” she says.

With critical acclaim has come increased sales, and a growing reputation for a unique and high quality assortment of wines. In Sweden, domestic sales have almost doubled in the last five years, from 19,388 litres in 2017 to 34,495 litres in 2022.

As well, the region’s reputation is now attracting winemakers from all over the world, including Californian Joe Roman, who now heads the team at Arilde Vineyard, the largest winery in Sweden.

“The greatest challenge in a cold climate is not actually the cold climate per se,” says Roman, who studied oenology in Oregon and Switzerland. “Yes, cold weather will have a different effect on maturity, ripeness, acids concentration, different phenolics, etcetera, but once you get accustomed to the microclimate, then you understand your wine profiles.

“This is the challenging part,” he adds. “The realization and understanding that the same variety grown in a different part of the world will have an absolute different profile here, so even if a professional winemaker had worked with a specific grape variety outside of