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A Taste of Sweden
Photo: Kaboompics
Tradition and innovation combined, for a one-of-a-kind wine In a climate that most would think doesn’t naturally lend itself to wine-making, SAV Winery has nevertheless become a successful winery – and the secret is in the raw material. Rather than making wine from grapes, SAV uses birch sap. By Amanda Düring |
Photos: SAV Winery
Though there is some wine production in Sweden, no vineyards are based as far north as SAV Winery. Founded in Östersund in 2018, the winery used a centuries-old recipe to create a new product. “Birch sap wine is an older tradition than you might think,” says Bengt Strenge, partner and chairman of SAV Winery. “The recipe we’ve unearthed comes from Germany, but there’s also an old tradition of birch sap wine in England. It used to be something that poorer people would make when they couldn’t afford 58 |
Issue 139
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February 2022
wine made from grapes, but we’ve made it into something that takes its rightful place beside other wines.” The recipe, discovered in an archive, was written down in 1785 and has given its name to the first wine to come into production – SAV 1785 Pétillant Naturel. A pet nat, as it’s also referred to in the industry, is a naturally sparkling wine with smaller, pearl-like bubbles that bring out the sweetness of the wine; while a traditional Prosecco contains an average of 13-14 grammes of sugar, the SAV 1785 Pétillant Naturel contains 18 grammes.
“We’re very proud of our wine,” says Strenge. “It’s great to be able to bring back an old tradition and offer something new on the market. We’re going to the Vinexpo in Paris in February, and we’re getting a lot of interest – most people have never seen anything like it.”
Partner and chairman Bengt Strenge.
