Vrangbækgård wine
Danish wine. Is it realistic at all? And can it be made at such a high level that it is interesting at all? Yes, the most important starting point is that one must be able to grow some healthy and mature grapes. Therefore, you have to choose the right grape varieties, carefully care for them - and finally have control of things in the winery.
"It's hard to make good wine of bad grapes, but it's easy to make bad wine of good grapes."
In 2011, the first two rows of wine were planted on a south-facing slope close to the farm as a family-hobby project. The following year, a few more rows were added, and gradually the field has grown until it is now so large that the yield exceeds what we can handle to drink ourselves. That is why in 2021 we took the leap from hobby breeders to business growers, so that we can now also sell the wine we produce.
Along the way, some grape varieties have been torn up and replaced by others, so that the field now contains the varieties we have the greatest confidence in.
The green grapes
- To our white table wines and sparkling wines
We have the most of the green grapes, and the most important variety is 'Solaris', which in the scent and taste profile can be reminiscent of 'Souvignon Blanc', but which - with safe maturation and high concentrations of both sugar and a refreshing acid - gives powerful, full -bodied aromatic wines.
In addition, we grow 'Johanites', which under Danish conditions, is a very late maturing variety, which is pronounced useful for sparkling wines. The same goes for 'Villaris', which, however, also in the good years joins the table wine blend with 'Solaris'.
Finally, 'Muscaris' is an aromatic variety of the muscat type, which contributes aromatic complexity to both white and rosé wines. Most recently, we have planted 'Souvignier Gris' and 'Hibernal' on experimental plan.
'Souvignier Pig' matures late in Denmark and is therefore used primarily for sparkling wine. The bunches are full and beautifully red. The profile is reminiscent of 'Pinot Pig'.
'Hibernal' is a newer variety developed at the University of Geisenheim. It matures late in Denmark, but nevertheless achieves an aromatic profile. We had our first harvest of the variety in 2022 and it will be part of the sparkling wines of the new vintage.
Of all these grape varieties, approx. No matter the table wine and sparkling wine.
The blue grapes
- For the red wines from sparkling rosé to hindwin.
The blue grapes are dominated by 'bolero', which gives a large yield suitable for specially sparkling rose wines. With appropriate yield control and divided harvest, 'Bolero' can also develop a late harvested proportion of more mature grapes. These can be included in blends for both rosé and red wines. Here it blends with the variety 'Triomphe d'Alsace'.
'Triomphe d'Alsace' is an approx. 100 years old French/German hybrid with a strong resistance to diseases. It matures well in Denmark. Clocks and berries are relatively small, resulting in red wines with a good complexity. This variety is the main variety of our red wines, which are only produced in the best years, and in addition it is the basis of our liqueur wine.
In the years when no red wine is produced, all blue grapes are included in the rosé wines, which thereby get particularly good quality in these otherwise less good years. Part of the rosé wine is also faded, giving it even more complexity.
Finally, we also make a liqueur wine. When the grapes have fermented for approx. 3 days, the partially fermented wine is raised, which is immediately reinforced with alcohol to approx. 20% vol, whereby the fermentation is stopped and the rest of the fruit sugar in the wine is therefore preserved.
After the fermentation, the heat wine comes on a custom -made remodeled port wine dish of 67 liters. The ripening happens faster on small dishes So, after a few years, a development of the wine is achieved, equivalent to 8-10 years of storage on normal large port wine barrels.
The vineyard's location
Our vineyard is located on a south -facing slope close to the coast at Lundeborg on Funen, and with the help of careful pruning and very high foliage walls with large row spacing (to avoid shade) are obtained maximum yield from the sun's rays.
This means that the field is able to deliver very nice and mature grapes almost every single year. Therefore, we do not need to manipulate the wine in the winery with extra sugar addition or reduction of acid. It results in naturally balanced and tasty wines.
Organic cultivation of robust varieties
We grow a range of robust grape varieties, which with a short development time from bud shooting to maturation and harvest is suitable for cultivation in the cool Danish climate. They are the result of the German processing persistent crossing work for more than 100 years. (Piwi = Pilzwiederwiderstandsfähige Rebsorten.)
The list of grapes that can be ripened in Denmark with more or less luck, we are now "taking one step up" with the development of a number of new grape varieties. See the page ”Developing new varieties for 'Cold Climate'.
The European grape Vitis Vinifera has been crossed with wild vitis species from North America in particular, thereby achieving a great robustness (resistance to diseases). The complex genetic background makes them particularly suitable for organic cultivation with minimal use of pesticides.
2-3 preventive sprays with spray swoven and baking soda (baking powder) per season. In dry summers, like the past few years, sprays may well be avoided, but should nevertheless be implemented so as not to overpower the natural resistance of the plants.
The field is fertilized with organic fertilizer in dried pill form.
No weeds are used as the plants are planted in a small soil covered with weeds. In the plant hole is supplemented with coconut mats and hand -sluggling.
The farm's chickens and ducks help keep the green areas between the wine rows, while 2 Swedish farm dogs and a falcon pair keep moss pig away.