Scandinavian Wine? A Warming Climate Tempts Entrepreneurs

New York Times ^ | November 9, 2019 | Liz Alderman

[karpov]

SKAERSOGAARD, Denmark — On a mild autumn morning, Sven Moesgaard climbed a sunbathed hill and inspected an undulating expanse of neatly planted vines. A picking crew was harvesting tons of hardy Solaris grapes that he would soon turn into thousands of bottles of crisp white and sparkling Danish wine.

A decade ago, winemaking was regarded as a losing proposition in these notoriously cool climes. But as global temperatures rise, a fledgling wine industry is growing from once-unlikely fields across Scandinavia, as entrepreneurs seek to turn a warming climate to their advantage.

“We’re looking for the opportunities in climate change,” said Mr. Moesgaard, the founder of Skaersogaard Vin, cradling a cluster of golden grapes. “In the coming decades, we’ll be growing more wine in Scandinavia while countries that have traditionally dominated the industry produce less.”

Nordic vintners are betting that they can develop what were once mainly hobbyist ventures into thriving commercial operations. The dream is to transform Scandinavia into an essential global producer of white wines, which are beginning to flourish along Europe’s northern rim.

The growth has been rapid: Denmark now boasts 90 commercial vineyards, up from just two 15 years ago, and around 40 have sprung up in Sweden. Nearly a dozen vineyards are operating as far north as Norway.

But many are in the start-up stage and are tiny compared with established wineries in Europe, which has 10 million acres of vineyards — enough to cover almost all of Denmark. Producers in France, Italy and Spain own three-quarters of that land, dominating the European industry. By contrast, Denmark and Sweden have European Union approval to grow less than 1,000 acres of vineyards, and questions persist about quality and price.

...

In the last decade alone, warming has produced ... a small but rising number of award-winning wines.

[Kirkwood]

What you are describing IS climate change.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

LOL!

[wildcard_redneck]

politicianslie, how did the Kool-Aid taste?

[Oldexpat]

It’s not just climate. They have developed new grape varieties that do well in northern climates.

[VanShuyten]

I’ve already got my mango/banana plantation in Iowa plotted out.

[hinckley buzzard]

What they don’t tell you is that recent grape hybrids are hardy to 40 below. So growing grapes in cold climates is now feasible where before it wasn’t. Got nothing to do with “climate change.”

[Grampa Dave]

According to the thermometer it is not rising. According to the media and those who owns it it will. The same people who stand to get richer by climate scams.

Thanks to: Erik Latranyi for the above

[SunkenCiv]

• Paul Mabray: wine’s biggest problem? Consumers don’t care about wine