Danish wine harvest expected to be exceptional with ideal growing conditions

Danish vineyards are poised for an exceptional harvest this year as prolonged warm and dry weather creates optimal conditions for grapevines, though the outcome remains uncertain until harvest in late September.

Helle Stokkebye, owner of Stokkebye vineyard between Nyborg and Kerteminde on Funen, said vines are developing faster than usual, with clusters already heavy with fruit. “I can clearly see they are further ahead than they normally are at this time of year,” she said. “They’ve gone through flowering beautifully, and you can see the quantity of grapes.”

At her vineyard, mechanical trimming is underway to control rapid growth—vines are reportedly adding up to ten centimetres per day in the heat. “If anyone ever thought Danish wine was just sour fizz, they might want to reconsider,” Stokkebye said. “The more the grapes are allowed to ripen, the better the wine in the glass.”

She anticipates a rich, early harvest with greater depth of flavour. “We think it’s going to taste really good—plenty of ripe grapes, an earlier harvest, and more complexity in the taste.”

Hans Neergaard Münter, chairman of the Danish Wine association and owner of Koruplund Vineyard on Djursland, echoed the optimism. “It looks really good,” he said. “With this kind of weather, we get both excellent grapes and vigorous plant growth, which means a lot of work in the vineyard right now.”

However, Münter cautioned that the outcome is not yet certain. “If it pours from August first until harvest, it could ruin everything and the harvest won’t be good. But if the warm weather continues, with some rain in between, it will be a super year,” he said.

Stokkebye compared the current conditions to 2018—a hot, dry year that yielded 30 percent more grapes than average. “We’re positive and think this will also be a really, really good wine year,” she said.