Estonia's northernmost winery turns rhubarb, apples and grapes into wine
At Valgejõe Veinivilla in Lahemaa, once the site of an old tavern, Estonia's northernmost craft winery makes wine from local fruits, berries and grapes. ETV+'s programme "Summer Horizon" visited the family behind it.
In Lahemaa, on the site of a former tavern, sits Valgejõe Veinivilla — Estonia's northernmost craft winery. The ETV+ programme "Summer Horizon" visited the family running it to see how the wine is made.
Owner Tiina Kuuler explained that the wine is made and stored in an excise warehouse, where fermentation takes place in steel tanks. Most tanks currently stand empty, but 400-litre vats already hold this year's finished rhubarb wine, which will lighten in colour over time.
A wide range of products
Besides wine, the farm produces homemade lemonades and sparkling wines, carbonated using a carbonator. The cellar currently holds more than 5,400 bottles. Shelves display around fifteen varieties made from apples, rhubarb, cherry plums, strawberries and lingonberries, along with a sparkling wine made from white currants. Classic wines made from grapes grown in Estonia are also on offer.
According to Kuuler, grapes suited for winemaking ripen best in southern Estonia and on the islands, where several winemakers grow their own grapes.
Grapes also grow on the farm itself, though they aren't used for wine there. The crew nevertheless checked how much sugar the nearly ripe berries had accumulated under the northern August sun. Kuuler noted that sugar content matters greatly, since it converts into alcohol during fermentation. The current reading was about 13 degrees Brix, yielding roughly 7% alcohol — still not enough.
On her own farm, Kuuler grows only chokeberries for winemaking, calling them a "superberry" because they retain many beneficial compounds even after fermentation.
