Once upon a time, there was an ugly duckling that grew into a beautiful swan. The fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish writer, resembles the rise of Danish wine. Still in its infancy now, but with huge potential for the future. WINELIFE paid a lightning visit to the land of Lego and smörrebröd and was pleasantly surprised by what is going on in the wine field.
Text: Château Petri | Image: René de Waal | Courtesy of: destination Trekantområdet and Sønderjylland
Those who think of fine wine usually mention an example from southern Europe or New World countries. Yet a remarkable wine sector is growing in the north: Denmark, Sweden, England and the Netherlands show that cool-climate vineyards are serious competition for the well-known wine countries. Climate changes play a key role in this: as in the Netherlands, viticulture in the Østersø region, in the countries around the Baltic Sea, is now feasible.
The first commercial harvest in Denmark took place in 2001. By 2020, the country had about 100 commercial and many small-scale wine producers. They get it right from the start: sustainability, organic or biodynamic viticulture and working with hybrids are commonplace at most wineries. In doing so, they create their own wine identity that is well worth discovering.
For the wine tourist
While wine consumption is declining worldwide, wine tourism is actually flourishing.
A survey of 1,310 producers from 47 countries by the Global Wine Tourism Report 2025 (Geisenheim) shows that two-thirds of wine companies consider their tourism business to be profitable. Denmark has understood this well. Apart from visiting the vineyards, there is plenty to do. We visited the regions of Trekantområdet and Sønderjylland in the south and southeast of Denmark, visiting great farmshops, museums, state of the art hotels and restaurants.
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