Vistakulle vingård

It began, as so often, with a crazy idea. Anders and Veronica Åberg had just moved into the old tourist hotel at Vista Kulle and were admiring the view from their porch. Rolling fields and orchards met the sharp shoreline of Lake Vättern. But they also saw something else. In their imaginative vision, the hills were covered with vineyards.
An impossible place
Wine is grown between the 30th and 50th parallels in the Northern Hemisphere and between the 30th and 45th parallels in the Southern Hemisphere. So goes a generalized half-truth. What is definitely true, however, is that Vista Kulle lies on the 57th parallel and has never had any wine production, other than the occasional grapevine on a porch here and there. It was also poor soil and difficult farming conditions that drove people from here to emigrate to the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries and made Småland known as the land of emigrants, not least through Vilhelm Moberg’s novels. In other words, it takes a great deal of imagination (and perhaps a touch of madness) to come up with the idea of establishing a vineyard in such a place.
The Trip to Tuscany
When Anders and Veronica Åberg moved into the old tourist hotel near the long-defunct Vista Kulle train station in 2006, they had no thoughts of winegrowing. It was the beautiful view, the orchards, and the dense mushroom forest that seemed to offer the perfect backdrop for their upcoming retirement. But there was also an intriguing microclimate. Shortly after moving, they took a trip to Tuscany in Italy. There, they found a resemblance to their new home in the rolling landscape around the Chianti hills, which sparked an idea. The idea became a seed—or rather, a small kernel—that sprouted, took root, and grew into a grapevine. What if vineyards could grow across the slopes at Vista Kulle as well?
The First Vines
The first 10 vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were planted in Anders and Veronica’s garden in the summer of 2007. Already after the first winter, it was clear that they weren’t hardy enough. They didn’t thrive in our northern climate. Anders and Veronica tried hardy table grapes, but the wine from these grapes had a questionable aftertaste and never turned out well enough.
The vineyard bears fruit
The breakthrough came in 2011, after delving deep into wine literature and a fortunate connection with the Swedish Winegrowers’ Association. Anders and Veronica got the idea to try the Solaris and Rondo varieties, and it turned out to be a stroke of luck.
The results were so promising that in 2012 they leased a plot of farmland from a nearby farmer and planted 500 Solaris vines. The following year, another 100 Solaris and 25 Rondo vines were planted, and in 2014, new plantings were established on a south-facing slope in the middle of Vistakulle Fruktodling’s large apple orchards. The vineyard currently consists of 1,150 vines spread across three different sites.