Swedish Wines in Berlin, a total successe

Swedish wines have long been a curiosity. Something strange and, it must be admitted, not always of the highest quality. But that is now history. Today’s Swedish wines hold their own in competition with their more renowned colleagues from the continent.

Master Class in Berlin

At the Berlin Wine Trophy, I had the honour of conducting a MasterClass on the theme of Swedish wine.
Two of the wines I presented came from Thora Vingård. “Pure 2023” and “Heritage 2022”, both made from 100% Solaris.
The first, Pure 2023, showed a creamy intensity. The aroma is full of citrus fruits such as grapefruit and lime. But also of camomillie. The flavour is full-bodied, intense, yet light and fresh. The citrus fruits return, but now also accompanied by elderberry and various herbs. Some of my colleagues compared it to a well-made Chablis.
I must admit that it is with quite a lot of national pride that I see 50 of my fellow judges, renowned wine connoisseurs, winemakers and oenologists from all over the world, smell, taste and in unison praise a Swedish wine.
Also Heritage 2022, with aromas of elderflower, roses and citrus was met with great praise. A unique balance between barrel-aged and steel tank-aged has resulted in a well-balanced wine with a variety of possibilities. The restaurateurs in the group immediately began discussing menu suggestions and soon recipes were shared for everything from Swedish salmon to Portuguese specialities.
Everyone emphasised that both wines were very well made, making good use of the unique characteristics of Solaris. When asked if, in a blind test, they would have guessed that this wine originated in Sweden, they all said no. However, if the wine had been in the competition, they would undoubtedly have given both a gold medal.

National Pride

Thanks to winemakers like those at Thora Vingård, Swedish wines are no longer a unique curiosity, but something we should be proud of and can without a doubt serve to anyone, even a group of internationally recognised wine experts at a MasterClass in Berlin.

Maria Scharffenberg
Sommelier and teacher