by Elsebeth Lohfert
The long, warm summer and mild autumn have made 2006 a record year for Danish winegrowers, who have flourished as average annual temperatures have risen in Europe. Jens Michael Gundersen, the chairman of Foreningen af Danske Vinavlere
the Danish winemaker's guild, speaks of a record vintage and expects that at least 50,000 bottles of wine will be produced. Quality should be excellent, he adds. The largest harvest to date was 30,000 bottles.
Most of this growth has come from the three largest estates. Vingården Lille Gadegård on the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm harvested 25 tonnes of red grapes from their three hectares (7.5 acres) of vineyard and should make 15 to 20,000 bottles of wines. Denmark s oldest estate, Skærsøgård Vin in Almind in Jutland, also harvested record quantities and should produce a mix of about 10,000 bottles or red and white wine.
The Danish winemaker s guild currently has some 700 members, most of whom cultivate grapes only as a hobby. Only six estates produce commercial quantities, most located in the vicinity of Copenhagen, which is where Gundersen owns his three hectares of vineyards. In 2000 Denmark was officially recognized by the European Union as a winemaking county.
