Overview
The Lofoten Islands lie far beyond conventional wine country, but a handful of adventurous producers work with Arctic berries in one of the world's most dramatic settings. Cloudberries, raspberries and blackcurrants are the real stars here, fermented into small lots of intensely flavoured fruit wine.
The climate is subpolar oceanic, kept milder than the latitude suggests by the Gulf Stream, yet summers remain short and cool. Cloudberry wine is the regional speciality, with raspberry and blackcurrant wines close behind; a few experimental protected growers also trial ultra-early hybrids such as Solaris. Soils are thin, acidic podzols over gneiss and granite, interspersed with peat bogs.
Key Varietals
- CloudberryThe golden Arctic cloudberry is fermented into rich, honeyed dessert wines above the Arctic Circle.
- RaspberryHardy northern raspberries produce vivid, tart berry wines in the islands' short summer.
- BlackcurrantBlackcurrants tolerate the cool, windy climate and give deeply coloured fruit wines.
- SolarisA very early-ripening white hybrid that stands the best chance in experimental northern gardens.
Region snapshot
Climate
Subpolar oceanic, Gulf Stream-moderated
Rainfall
About 1,000-1,400 mm annually
Soil Types
Thin acidic podzols over gneiss and granite, with peat bogs