Six Very Convincing Reasons to Try Swedish Wine

Winemaker Claes Bartoldsson makes a strong case for why your next glass of wine should be made in Sweden.

Words by Sophie Miskiw. Photography by Johan Ståhlberg.

  1. To branch out

“Solaris, the grape we grow at Ästad Vingård, is a relatively new varietal most people haven’t tried. Everyone wants to try a new wine!”

  1. It breaks tradition

“It’s always fun to try wine from a country that’s not bound by tradition. There’s no tradition in both a good and bad way. It’s very hard to know what wine you’ll get, but that’s the fun part!”

  1. It pushes boundaries

“There are so many styles right now. It’s not like when you go to a village in Burgundy and know exactly what you’ll get. At the moment in Sweden everyone is trying different things. There are no boundaries.”

  1. The quality is great

“The quality right now is really good overall. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have said that, but Swedish wine has come on a long way in the last two to three years.”

  1. It tastes pretty fantastic, too

“The wines are really nice summer wines. They are mostly fresh with good acidity. Not all of them are light, some are big and bold.”

  1. It’s skilfully made

“There are a lot of very talented winemakers who are starting to make wines in Sweden, so I think it’s a good time to get into Swedish wine - both ours at Ästad Vingård and from all around Sweden.”

Words by Sophie Miskiw. Photography by Johan Ståhlberg.