There are two kinds of cherries, sour and sweet.

 

Sweet cherries are the ones you eat fresh in summer. Although they taste terrific, they don't lend themselves to wine production; the water content's too high, the sugar and acid levels, too low.

 

The sour cherry doesn't lend itself readily for eating. But, of course, many are perfect for pickling - and for wine.

 

On the Frederiksdal Estate, we only grow sour cherries.

 

95% of our cherry orchards are the Stevnsbær varietal - the small black Danish cherry fruit researchers have dubbed ‘the Nordic grape'. The Stevnsbær is famous all over the world and can be found growing in orchards across Europe, but the consensus is that the taste becomes most complex along the coasts of Denmark and northern Germany. Denmark made a great deal of wine from the Stevnsbær cherry until the mid-1960s, when production peaked.

 

While there are many different Stevnsbær varieties and even more sub-varieties, there's sadly very little knowledge about the differences in taste between them. The following is, therefore, based solely on our experience and interviews with the cherry specialists in Denmark, Germany and France.

 

Birgitte is the most common Stevnsbær varietal in Denmark, and the backbone of Frederiksdal's production. A grand Danish stalwart originally selected for juice and wine, Birgitte is a powerful cherry in every way, being rich in flavour, colour, sugar and acid. Birgitte cherries keep famously well, vinified.

 

To draw parallels to the world of wine, Birgitte cherries might recall Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.

 

Frederiksdal cherries are propagated from trees from the Nielstrupmark orchard on the Frederiksdal estate: a Birgitte varietal, in other words, adapted to our west-Lolland terroir. The mother trees were selected as having proven particularly resistant to disease and dependable in their fruiting.

 

Viki

Viki is the mother cherry to the Vester Skovgaard, Jens Holme and Poul Eyvind Hansen varieties of cherry. One of the older Stevnsbær varieties, the name is a contraction of vin, wine, and kirsebær, cherry.

 

 

vester skovgaard, jens holme og poul ejvind hansen

These are varieties of Stevnsbær claiming Viki as a parent. These varietals have been selected as very resistant to disease and for their high sugar and acid levels. We don't know how these varieties fair in the winery - but in a quest to find a Stevnsbær with lower acidity than Birgitte, they win the taste test.

 

kelleris

An old variety of Danish sour cherry from the village of Kelleris in North Zealand.

 

Kelleris aren't part of the Stevnsbær family, being without the colour, sugar and acid; the juice oxidises comparatively easily, too, so Denmark's interest in the Kelleris variety has been been modest owing to the wine industry's traditional approach that the more colour, acid and sugar the better.

 

Our experiences are limited, but in theory it should be of interest to wine, as long as yields are kept low. Kelleris is certainly a challenge. Maybe it's the cherry's answer to Pinot Noir? Well, someone has to find out - and it's going to be us.

 

ungarische traubige

‘Hungarian Grape', from Hungary by way of Germany, is a very mildly sour cherry often sold in Germany as an eating cherry. The Ungarische cherry isn't related to the Stevnsbær, although it has the same deep colour and just about the same sugar content.

 

It's a very interesting cherry, in theory, still valued and grown in Germany and Central Europe. Its biggest problem is that, like Kelleris, the juice oxidizes relatively easily. Danish fruit growers and consultants are positive about the variety, but since it's so often mixed with other varieties it's difficult to say for certain what its unique qualities are. So we've planted it to find out. Perhaps it's the cherry's answer to Merlot?

 

favorit

A variety from the former East Germany, bred in the 1970s. Popular throughout Germany today, it has become known as one of the country's finest cherries. High in acid, low in sugar and colour, the Favorit's lighter and brighter than Kelleris. Its excellent cherry aromas elegantly compliment the strong Stevnsbær.