The Producer: Sven Moesgaard @ Skærsøgaard Vin

Last week I went on a road trip to visit Danish cider / apple wine producers in Jutland. The first stop on my way was Skærsøgaard Vin. The winery is located only a short drive from Kolding. This is the closet you get to a “real” wine estate in Denmark. 15.000 wine plants and a winery packed with the newest equipment. There is no doubt that Sven – the founder and owner – is passionate about this project. Svens place is like heaven for a real wine geek.

I stopped by Skærsøgaard for a talk on apple wine, as Sven do Danish cider on Danish apple varieties. However cider is not his only product. His portfolio counts a broad selection of red and white wines, sparkling wines, fortified wines and distilled and aged spirits.

Sven talked me through his production and thoughts on cider as we walked through his fascinating winery.

Sven do two different wines on apples. However the only thing that differentiates the two wines from each other is the dosage, where he use either his fortified apple wine (æbleau) or his fortified black currant wine (crème). The production of the wine is as close to the traditional way of making Champagne as we get. Must of Danish apples are fermented to total dryness using Saccharomyces bayanus, allowed to stabilize and clarify for rather long time at low temperature, bottled with sugar, nutrients and Saccharomyces bayanus and allowed to ferment and mature in bottle. The wine is then riddled, disgorged and added dosage. This gives a sparkling, light aromatic apple wine. And I really like it!

No doubt that Svens passion is more than a hobby. I had a great time visiting the winery, tasting the wines and disusing interesting aspects on Danish cider.