(Due to low amount of data of winemaking out of grapes in Finland no computers are needed)

HOW ABOUT EINSTEIN?

First note: We Finns are serious people without any sense of humor.

Second note: I tried to write eiswein, but miswrote. So I have to combine these two aspects.

Third note: Only idiots try to grow vines in Finland and those who try to make wine out of grapes in Finland are even more insane.

Even so many of us are deep in this vinegrowing nonsense.

Now some negative points:

Everyday struggle against short growing season and low growingdegreedays. Frosts and cold winter and protecting vines against these. Moose, mice, rabbits and laughing people are harming the hobby.

Some positive points:

Luckily lot of varieties are possible to grow and to get crop out of them. And luckily many varieties that can be grown are suitable for winemaking. And some unstable people do admire us vinegrowers.

AND THE LAW:

Finnish alcohol law is totalitarian. Making wine out of fruits and berries is possible but strictly supervised by public officer.

HOW ABOUT MAKING WINE OUT OF GRAPES IN FINLAND?

Few years ago Finnish agricultural minister was negotiating farming quota of vines and special arctic support for Finland. Humoristic Danish minister asked her *HOW AN EARTH YOU WANT ARCTIC SUPPORT AND VINE QUOTA AT THE SAME TIME*.

This typical Finnish serious pig farmer didn’t understand that the Dane was joking. She panicked and took back the vine quota.

Because of that we can make wine out of grapes commercially ONLY if the word wine is not mentioned.

In the label should be text: Mild alcohol drink made by fermentation. Of course the method is same and the raw material is the same as in wine but the name IS NOT!

Even so some Finns do make wine officially: Juha Karvonen – Light white wine (all gone).

Mr. Tikkanen and Mr. Lassila in southern Finland make Zilga-wine matured in oak barrels.

Fredrik Slotte from Åland making sparkling wine out of Solaris. Under bottle fermentation now.

Mr. Timo Saario has experimental winemaking in oak too.

As you can see growing vines and making wine out of grapes takes lot of thinking and work to succeed.

Even so you don’t have to be Albert Einstein to manage this. It is good enough to be Leonardo da Vinci.

Epiloque:

We are (in Finland) in the beginning of the adventurous road and more and more people are joining us.