100 years of wine in Finland

Wine consumers in Europe’s cold north are navigating their way through big brands, a big monopoly, and vibrant restaurant wine lists, reports Ilkka Sirén.

Helsinki, capital of Finland
Helsinki, capital of Finland

This is a big year for Finland. The Finns are carefully choosing their party hats as they get ready to celebrate the centenary of Finland’s independence. But do they celebrate with a glass of sparkling wine, or perhaps with a pint of beer? Traditionally the Finns have been an enthusiastic bunch when it comes to beer and neutral, vodka-like spirits. And Finland has a bit of a reputation when it comes to alcoholic beverages. Whether it’s because of the cold climate or the long, dark winter, there has always been a thirst for a soul-warming tipple or two. 

At a glance

In 1919, just a little more than a year after Finland gained its independence, a Prohibition started which lasted until 1932. When the Parliament repealed the Prohibition Act, the government-owned Oy Alkoholiliike Ab was granted an exclusive right to import, export, produce and sell alcoholic beverages. A monopoly was born. Today, the company known as Alko holds a retail monopoly for all beverages with an alcohol content higher than 4.7%. “We currently have 354 shops across Finland,” says Taina Vilkuna MW, the product communications manager at Alko, who has worked for the company nearly 30 years. “We have come a long way. The wine selection in our shops was something quite different back in the ’80s. But the Finns are starting to develop a taste for wine. People are very eager to learn about different styles of wine, and with the internet these days it’s easy to seek information.”

She says that the average Finn – assuming there is such a thing – drinks a bit more red wine than white, and the wine is most likely from Chile. “It’s pretty incredible that over 28% of the red wine sold through Alko is from Chile, this one country on the other side of the world,” Vilkuna adds.

The first Chilean wine came to Alko in 1990, and these soft and fruity wines seem to fit the Finnish palate. “New World wine countries are strong, but we are seeing a trend toward European wines with a slightly bigger price tag.” She points out that consumer behaviour is different in the bigger cities, such as Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, where there is not only more interest in wine, but where people are happy to invest a bit more time and money to find the right wine.

As a Nordic country, the seasons are strong in Finland and it often dictates the drink of choice. National holidays can have a major effect on certain wine categories. For example, the festival on 1st May, or ‘Vappu’ in Finnish, is all about sparkling wine. On the week leading up to 1st May, the sales of sparkling wine in Alko goes up by 430% compared to a normal week. This means that approximately 610,000 bottles of sparkling wine are sold through the monopoly shops in the last week of April. From May until the end of June it’s the season for bubbles and crisp white wines. The beginning of summer is the time for school graduation parties and it’s also a popular time for weddings, which further helps to boost sparkling wine sales. While Finns are big fans of Cava, the global Prosecco trend is also making itself visible. Last year, this category of Italian sparkling wine grew by 16.5%, and was the first year that Alko sold more Italian sparkling wine than French.

Rosé wines are also increasing in popularity, but is still a small category, representing only 2% of Alko’s wine sales. Perhaps it’s because of the erratic nature of our summer weather that it’s December that is the biggest season for wine in Alko, both in volume and value. As the proud homeland of Santa Claus, the country naturally takes Christmas very seriously.

The on-trade

Alko isn’t the only place in Finland for wine. The restaurant and bar scene in Finland is evolving fast and there are plenty of places popping up where the wine menu is well thought out. It is in the restaurants that people can explore more interesting wine styles, regions and grape varieties, beyond the selection available in Alko. “We offer customers wines that we like to drink. I like delicate and fruit-driven wines,” says Nicolas Thieulon, restaurateur and sommelier. “If a customer wants a big bold red like Amarone, well, he is not going to find one here. We are addicted to the deliciousness of wine and the whole enjoyment of it.” Thieulon’s restaurant BasBas in Helsinki offers almost exclusively natural wines. “Most people that come through the door have no idea what natural wines are or what it means. But they are usually very open-minded and curious to learn more.”

He describes natural wines as, “Pure fruit and natural, that’s it. And clean. Of course there are some producers that really know what they are doing – some do not. Being ‘natural’ doesn’t mean the wine is automatically good,” says Thieulon. “There are wines that were not meant to be funky but they just ended up that way. But if the producer is sharp and knows his stuff a consistent quality can be achieved.”

Thieulon says that wine in Finland has managed to retain its romantic aura. “It’s seen as this natural thing, not something that can be mass-produced. What is a natural wine? What is not? People here just don’t think about stuff like that when they are drinking wine,” he says, suggesting that because Finnish customers aren’t prejudiced about wine, it’s easier “to influence how they experience wine in a restaurant.”

Working together with restaurants and Alko are the wine importers. The Association of Finnish Alcoholic Beverage Suppliers has some 30 members, and together they account for 90% of the alcohol-importing business. “For importers the biggest business by far is Alko, and if you really want to succeed here in Finland that should be your main goal,” says Tuomas Meriluoto MW, CEO of wine-importing company Winestate. “Alko represents roughly 90% of the Finnish wine market but only 10% of the products available on the market, whereas the restaurant side represents only 10% of the business but 90% of the individual products. Needless to say the competition there is pretty ridiculous, and although the restaurant side is important, the main focus for us is Alko.”

The Finnish monopoly system can be opaque for many wine producers, so they try to break into the market through the restaurant scene. “Some producers think that if they get their products on enough wine lists in Finland, that would help them through Alko’s door,” says Meriluoto. “That is in fact not true. I have never heard of a wine that got a listing because it was popular in restaurants. That is not how the system works,” he adds. “If you do get your product in Alko – which is damn hard by the way – then of course you want people to see it in restaurants as well. But the challenge nowadays is that many restaurants do not want to sell the same wines that are available in Alko because they want to offer the customer an exclusive experience. So, in the Finnish market it’s difficult for a wine to be successful on both fronts.”

Beyond glass

Finland adopted bag-in-box wines back in 1998 and now, only two decades later, 38% of all wine sold in Alko comes in a bag-in-box. “Bag-in-box is really important for us. If you consider the amount of wine sold in a BiB and the amount of brands available compared to wine bottles, it’s really an interesting market,” says Meriluoto. “The competition is intense, though. Importers fight over shelf space in Alko, so you really need to support the product with marketing,” he continues. Finnish consumers are used to the 3-L BiBs, but there are more and more 1.5-L and 2-L pouches and BiBs coming into the market. “The thing is, Finns do not love glass. Others might still want their glass bottle with a closure made from a piece of bark, but Finns don’t care if the wine comes in a box, pouch or a plastic can. There is already a generation of people in Finland who were introduced to wine in a bag-in-box and only after they discovered bottled wine.”

It is difficult to say where the Finnish wine culture will be in 100 years from now, or even in 20. There is a lot of swinging back and forth in the political scene about alcohol-related laws and restrictions. Many wish to run down the monopoly, while others celebrate it, arguing that without it, Finland’s nascent wine culture could be lost overnight. Whatever the case, the Finns are unlikely to stop swirling that glass once they have got the hang of it. 

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