Last week, I got the
chance to take a tour of the Kelleris Vineyard, one of the 55 commercial vineyards
in Denmark, an industry that has been growing in the last decade. The Kelleris
Vineyard owned by Susanne and SΓΈren Hartvig Jensen, is
just about an hour out of Copenhagen in North Zealand. Denmark’s average summer
temperature is 17.5oC and wine grapes are usually grown in
temperatures ranging from 21 to 32oC in the summer, so imagine my
surprise when I learned that wine could be made there.
The Kelleris Vineyard
http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/kelleris-vineyard/gallery.html
The wines made at
Kelleris Vineyard since 2001 are called Utopia because the project of growing
wine grapes in what we could call a rather ‘hostile’ land seemed unrealistic.
But just a few years earlier, by crossing different varieties of grapes,
perfect vines requiring less sunshine and lower temperatures were created. They
were the perfect opportunity for wine making in Denmark. The question is why.
Why is wine so important today that people come to such extents to make it?
The Utopia Wine
http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/kelleris-vineyard/gallery.html
Traditionally wine is a
religious and hierarchical drink. For thousands of years, wine has been a major
symbol of the christian religion and has been deeply rooted in the European
history. Wine can be called a “spiritual” drink and can even be seen as sacred.
Wine is also associated to hierarchy, which can be assessed by the great
variety of wines and range of prices and qualities. An elitist culture was
traditionally attached to the consumption of wine leading to a social
differentiation.
Wine and Religion
http://barrelroomsf.blogspot.dk/2012_06_01_archive.html
However today, a new culture of
wine has been emerging with the popularization of the beverage. Many
publications such as journals, magazines and guides written by wine experts or
journalists have exposed wine to more people. This was accompanied by the
explosion of places devoted to wine consumption with festivals or even wine
bars. This has enabled the spread of a wine culture among consumers. It is now
easy to learn about wine and appreciate it. Somehow, wine has been
democratized.
Wine Festival
http://www.nywinefestivals.com/events/new-york-city-winter-wine-festival-2014/
Relevant sites
http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/kelleris-vineyard.html
http://denmark.dk/en/lifestyle/food-drink/winegrowing-at-the-northern-limit/
http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Vineyard
Dear Marine,
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog post was very interesting, and did a great job discussing Kelleris Vineyard in detail! You talked about how the wine made at the vineyard was called Utopia, because of the unrealistic land it was grown on. I was wondering if you could find other places where wine is grown in very hostile land? I think it is so interesting how crossing different plants results in the perfect type of varieties to grow wine in unlikely places.
Thanks,
-Natalie
Hi Natalie, there are a lot of strange places where wine can actually be grown. For example, Ontario produces what is called Icewine. It is made from grapes that have been left to freeze naturally on the vine. The production of Icewine requires hot summers and cold winters, which are not the typical winegrape growing conditions. Some wine in South America is also made at unusual altitudes. For example, in Argentina's Calchaqui Valley, grapes grow at 10,200 feet above sea level. In China, some grapes are also grown in very arid conditions in the desert surrounding the Turpan depression.
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