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Secretariat
Secretary Torben Skovgård Nielsen
Tel.: +45 2020 7270
Email: sekretariat@vinavl.dk
The Danish Wine Association (FDV) is an interest and trade organization for both hobby and commercial winegrowers and wine producers. FDV is a source of information and inspiration for anyone interested in Danish wine, fruit wine, mead, and distillates. FDV currently has over 1,000 members, divided between approximately 100 commercial growers and approximately 1,000 hobby growers.
The association was founded in 1993 by enthusiasts who believed it was possible to grow wine in Denmark. They lobbied the Ministry of Agriculture to obtain permission to grow wine. Before that time, Furesødal had grown wine commercially from 1936 to 1956. In 2006, the surviving 12 plants were supplemented with modern varieties.
In the year 2000, Denmark, together with England, Sweden and Finland, became an EU approved wine country, but without receiving EU subsidies for cultivation. We started by having to grow wine and sell our own products as table wine.
In 2005, the regulation was changed and we were granted Regional Wine from Bornholm, Zealand, Funen and Jutland as well as the right to write the grape variety and vintage on the label – i.e. BGB – protected geographical indication, just like IGT in Italy. Skærsøgaard – DONS, became the first BOB (Protected Designation of Origin) in Denmark in 2019.
The grape varieties are primarily PIWI wines, i.e. resistant varieties, from primarily German experimental stations. From being 52% red varieties in 2017, it is now 51% green varieties today. The reds are mainly Rondo, but several newer varieties such as Cabernet Cortis and Cabernet Cantor are growing in number. But Rondo is clearly the largest with Regent and Leon Millot as the next varieties.
The green grape varieties are clearly led by Solaris with more than 60%, followed by Orion, Ortega and Zalas Perle. Riesel is an upcoming variety along with Johaniter.
In terms of cultivation, the country is divided by the Great Belt with equal parts east and west of the Great Belt. North-west Zealand and South Jutland are the largest cultivation areas due to the large vineyards Dyrehøl Vingård with 40,000 vines and Skærsøgaard with 30,000 vines. These 2 constitute almost 20% of the total number. While the 10 largest account for approx. 50% of the total area.
Read the article “A Tribute to Danish Wine Over 20 Years”
Tim Vollerslev, Vice President and co-founder of the Danish Sommelier Association, has for several years been head judge at the Danish wine show. Tim Vollerslev wrote the article “A Tribute to Danish Wine Over 20 Years” for the Danish Sommelier Association’s member magazine.
