The southern parts of Sweden – mainly Skåne – are considered to be the new frontier for the future of winemaking as the climate changes. Recently, I got an article published in the American online wine magazine The Vintner Project where I talk about The Swedish vintner and winemaker Percy Månsson of Domän Sånana. He was a trailblazer for modern viticulture in Sweden. Read more in the article Meet Swedish Wine’s Top Trailblazer Percy Månsson From Domän Sånana in The Vintner Project.
Percy Månsson’s winery is right in my home region Skåne, Sweden’s southernmost region, just a few kilometers from my hometown Ystad. Skåne and some of the other southern regions are at the forefront of Swedish viticulture and winemaking, especially now that it is said that 2023 will become the year for the growth of Scandinavian wine. Let’s see about that, it is very dubious that the Swedish monopoly – Systembolaget – would cede any of its power as there is too much money involved.
The propaganda Systembolaget writes on their website, where they talk about themselves as having a mission to protect the Swedish people against alcoholism, has been successful in penetrating people’s minds so far. It made sense in an era of poverty where an agricultural proletariat often had difficulties surviving, in present-day Sweden it is a money machine for the Swedish state.
Anyway, I had written a short review of Sparkling Sånana 2019 before the article that came out on The Vintner Project. I never published it though. So, here below you can read it in English as well as in Italian.
Sparkling Sånana 2019 from Domän Sånana
Last year, when I was at home in southern Sweden, not looking for lost time but for the development of some wineries in the area. My mother and brother came with me, also curious to make some wine discoveries. We headed towards Skillinge along the southernmost coast of Sweden where Domän Sånana by Percy Månsson is located. He was practically the first in Sweden, in modern times, to plant vineyards in 1994 as a hobby and to start making wine. His most recent label is a classic method sparkling wine – Sånana Sparkling – made with Solaris and Souvignier Gris grapes from the 2019 harvest. In May 2021, he made an initial disgorgement test of about 100 bottles after a year on the yeasts that I was lucky enough to taste together with Percy.
Sånana Sparkling was a beautiful surprise with its nice acidity, notes of bread crust, citrus, green apple, and the tanginess of the nearby sea. On the palate, it has a nice freshness and structure. Here we are just a few feet (300 meters) from a wonderful sea with sand dunes such as those of Campomarino in Puglia, for example. (That’s right, I am not joking!) In fact, the word ‘Sånana‘ is a word in our dialect to mean that the ground is very sandy. It is a sandy soil that flies and in the past, it was a common problem for farmers to sow vegetables or grains only to find that everything had flown away to the neighbor’s field.
The Italian Version
A fine agosto ho fatto una gita nella mia Svezia del sud, non alla ricerca del tempo perduto ma dello sviluppo di qualche cantina nella zona. Sono venuti con me la mia mamma e mio fratello, curiosi anche loro di fare qualche scoperta enoica. Ci siamo indirizzati verso Skillinge lungo la costa più sud della Svezia dove si trova Domän Sånana di Percy Månsson che praticamente era il primo in Svezia, in tempi moderni, a piantare vigne in 1994 per hobby e per cominciare a fare vino. La sua etichetta più recente è uno spumante metodo classico – Sånana Sparkling – fatto con le uve Solaris e Souvignier Gris della vendemmia 2019. A maggio 2021, ha fatto una prima prova di degorgement di circa 100 bottiglie dopo un anno sui lieviti che ho avuto la fortuna di assaggiare assieme a Percy.
Sånana Sparkling è stata una bellissima sorpresa con la sua bella acidità, note di crosta di pane, agrumi, mela verde e la sapidità del mare vicino. In bocca ha una bella freschezza e struttura. Qui siamo proprio solo un passo (300 metri) da un mare meraviglioso con le dune di sabbia come quelle, per esempio, di Campomarino in Puglia. (È vero!) Infatti, la parola ‘Sånana’ è la parola nel nostro dialetto per dire che il terreno è molto sabbioso. È un terreno sabbioso che vola e nel passato era un problema comune per i contadini di seminare ortaggi o cereali per poi trovare che tutto era volato via al campo del vicino.
