Winemaker for a Day at Högberga Winery

Have you ever wondered how winemakers actually achieve those perfect blends where the wine gets its fullness from Cabernet Sauvignon, the slightly peppery character from Syrah, and a tiny, tiny touch of vanilla from oak barrels? You don't need to travel to France or Italy to find out more, as you can simply head a short distance outside Stockholm's city centre to try your hand at being a winemaker for a day. In a cellar at the beautiful manor house Högberga Farm out on Lidingö there is Högberga Winery till.

We started our day with a tour of the winery where winemaker Johan showed us around and told us the history of Vinfabriken. Johan then went through, step by step, the journey of the grapes from the vineyards in Tuscany, through Europe by truck, to finally end up in Lidingö where the grapes are crushed, macerated and prepared in all sorts of ways for our activity of the day. To be able to create our very own wine blend.

Before it was time to start blending, we first had the chance to taste the Winery's blueberry wine. Blueberry, you might be thinking, wine must be made from grapes to be called wine. And indeed it is, but what could be done when Covid-19 hit a few years ago, and the whole world shut down. The lorries with Tuscan grapes couldn't reach Sweden, and what is our long country full of then? Blueberries, of course. So it was said and done, Johan and friends went out into the blueberry forest, and a few years later, here we are in their cellar, sipping an excellent blueberry wine. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and even though wine isn't quite a necessity of life, we appreciated this creativity.

Then it was time to start blending. We had three single-varietal wines to start with: a Sangiovese, a Merlot, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. To begin with, we got a little help to find a good starting mix, but after that, it was just a case of mixing enthusiastically. What happened if you took a large proportion of Cabernet and a small proportion of Sangiovese? Almost nothing, it turned out, as Cabernet is so powerful. Add a bit of Merlot then? That immediately made the mix a little softer. Maybe a bit more Sangiovese to firm it up? This is how we went on until we finally had found a blend we were happy with. Rendahl's blend!

Given Sweden's somewhat rigid alcohol legislation, we unfortunately couldn't bring the wine home with us. Instead, it will be blended and bottled at the winery so that we can then directly import our wine via Systembolaget. We will get back to you with a picture of our stylish bottles as soon as they are home in Karlstad.

After about four hours down in the wine cellar with good company and much laughter, it was time to head out into the lovely afternoon weather to look around a bit. Högberga gård is a spectacular place with an incredibly beautiful setting. The estate describes itself as a ”Historical viewpoint for pleasure-seekers since 1911” and that is indeed a good description. It's easy to imagine how Stockholm's high society used to come out here in the summers to socialise and to eat and drink well.

After our walk, we still had a little while before dinner, so we had a chance to stretch out in the room. What a room it was! We almost wished for a chilly evening so we'd have an excuse to light a fire in the beautiful tiled stove. Instead of watching the flames, we had to make do with the view of the fjord, which was certainly not to be scoffed at either.

Dinner was served in the beautiful and bright Gallery, which in the estate's heyday once housed one of the country's most distinguished art collections. Nowadays, it serves instead as a banqueting hall for the estate's guests. The restaurant offers several dinner packages, and we chose a three-course menu with selected wine. It was a flavourful and well-composed dinner with scallops as a starter, duck for the main course, and a delightful dessert with white chocolate and passion fruit to finish. Perhaps I missed a little carbohydrate, but that's perhaps what happens when you move from the countryside to the big city. 🙂

After dinner, we went down to the colourful Chinese Room, packed with Asian art and a grand fireplace that towered at the far end of the room. Despite, or perhaps thanks to, its strong colours, the room creates a harmonious feeling, and it was really cosy to sit here and have a drink or a cup of coffee after the meal. Before it was time to tuck ourselves in, we also took ourselves on a little tour through the house's various nooks and crannies.

We had a really lovely stay at Högberga. It was so much fun to visit the wine factory and create your own wine. Winemaker Johan truly made the day a memorable experience, and it will be so exciting to try our own wines when we receive them. Together with the beautiful estate and the pleasant atmosphere of this beautiful place, we recommend a visit here, whether you are a wine snob or a novice. Or perhaps, you simply enjoy wine and nice people.