Finnish wine culture is not as young as often thought. In his book Viinissä Totuus (The Truth in Wine), Ilkka Mäntylä, assistant professor at the University of Turku and researcher of alcohol history, tells about a grave find that proves that people drank wine in Finland as early as 300 AD.


From bush to bottle

To understand the true soul of berry wines, you must know the basics of wine-making and how it differs from wine made of grapes.

Like grapes, berries are harvested by harvesting machines. Both grape and berry harvests can vary according to the type of fruit and season. Pesticides are hardly ever used in Finland. Moreover, berries require no sulfur treatment, which for grapes is necessary. In this respect, Finnish ingredients can boast about their purity.


The greatest difference between berry and grape wines is the freezing of berries and adding of water. Berries are stored in a freezer, so wine can be made any time of the year. This balances the producers' workload and work can be divided equally throughout the year.

Since berries have lots of acids, after the crushing it is necessary to add some water to prevent the acids from killing the yeast. The addition of water can be tasted in the final product. While grape wines have a full-bodied, often long-lasting flavor, berry wines are lighter with a much shorter aftertaste.

The third difference is the use of yeast. While grapes start fermenting because of the wild yeasts on them, berries need added yeast to start fermenting. To ensure the yeast's activity, sugar must always be added to berries. Adding sugar to grapes, on the other hand, is absolutely forbidden in most parts of Europe.

Berry wine ages much faster than grape wine. Since large scale berry winemaking is rather young, it is hard to estimate the development age of a quality berry wine. The safest option is to drink the wines young and brisk. Long aging hardly suits berry wines.

Unique Finnish product

Internationally, berry and fruit wines are not common. The Nordic conditions, however, are uniquely suited for producing berry wine. The cool growing season gives berries a naturally intense taste. No wonder Elizabeth Taylor had strawberries flown to her movie sets directly from Finland. The selection of berries in Finland is wide and if carefully cultivated can grow all the way up in Lapland.



We live in an age when natural values and unique experiences are becoming increasingly important. In this sense, there is a certain demand for berry wines.

In addition to wines, Finnish berry liqueurs are also gaining interest. The blueberry, strawberry, and currant liqueurs have a strong berry flavor and go well with light desserts.