Swedish wine: How global warming is shifting Europe's vineyards northwards

Scandinavia isn't exactly what connoisseurs would define as prime wine country. But with climate change making for warmer and longer growing seasons, and new varieties of grapes adapted to this landscape, Swedish winemaking is gaining steam.

As drought, rising heat and other extreme weather events are forcing traditional wine-growing regions to reassess their methods, Swedish winemaking is shifting from mostly small-scale amateurs to an industry with growing ambition.

Kullabergs Vingård is a vineyard and winery at the vanguard of producers seeking to redefine what Swedish wine can be.

Stretching over 14 hectares, most of its vines were planted less than a decade ago. By 2022, the winery had reached an annual output of over 30,000 bottles - mostly whites that can be found in high-end restaurants from Europe to Japan and that have won multiple international prizes.

“Where vineyards in more traditional countries are suffering, we are gaining momentum,” says Felix Åhrberg, a 34-year-old oenologist and winemaker who returned to Sweden in 2017 to lead Kullabergs Vingård after working in vineyards around the world.

Grapevines can tolerate heat and drought, and farming without irrigation is traditionally practiced in parts of Europe. But the past decade has seen the planet's hottest years on record, and more warming is expected. That can hit wine, where even minor weather variations can change grapes’ sugar, acid and tannin content.

Climate change can make areas once ideal for certain grapes more challenging. Extreme heat ripens grapes faster, leading either to earlier harvests that can diminish quality, or to stronger, less balanced wines if left to ripen too long.

In recent years, grapevines have been planted farther and farther