Our first-planted cherry orchard consists entirely of the Stevnsbær cherry varietal ‘Birgitte'.

 

With a rich clay soil, the orchard (as the name suggests) is situated in the woods close to the manor house, where the shelter fosters more powerful and heavy wines. We've designated a small corner of Skovmark for trial where the soil's lighter and sandier; here we're experimenting with organic farming principles.

 

Our second plantation is exclusively of Birgitte cherries.

 

Nielstrupmark was planted the year after Skovmark. The ground's a little easier and its situation less sheltered there, meaning (of course) more light, air and, notably, wind. This makes for a slightly drier environment, benefitting the trees' health. The wines from here are particularly elegant. In a large part of the field, we fertilize less in order to optimise the quality of the fruit.

 

SKRÆDDERBANKEN 'TAILOR BANK'

Our forthcoming 'Grand Cru', from one of Frederiksdal warmest plots.

 

Skrædderbanken is a small, south-facing hill a few hundred meters from the water. The soil here is lighter and more sandy than the other soils at Frederiksdal.

 

Skrædderbanken will act as a cherry-archive, a historical document. The field's planted with all the varieties we have on Frederiksdal, along with several old cherry varieties collected in Denmark and in other parts of Scandinavia in co-operation with the Gammel Estrup Museum of Agriculture and the fruit resource Pometet, part of the University of Copenhagen.

 

In Skrædderbanken the rows are spaced eight metres apart with the aim of furthering the biodynamic principle of diversity. To emphasize the plot's exotic climate, we've also planted figs and apricots.

 

It's believed that this was once the site of the house of the estate's tailor. To this day there's a store of wild plums, apples and blackberries in a small wood on the peak of the slope; if the story's true, these are left over from the tailor's old garden.

 

 

SKeLSTRUPMARK

Our biggest field, and almost entirely planted with Stevnsbær. 36% of the trees are the Poul Eyvind varietal, 31% Jens Holme and 31% North Skovgaard. The remaining 1% is Ungarische Traube.

 

Skelstrupmark's rows are spaced at a full six meters, a lot more than in our old plantations. The increased light and air benefits the health of the trees in a natural way. Part of the plantation's on an embankment, allowing the roots to warm quickly in spring and reducing the risk of their being inundated after heavy rain. In trials elsewhere, the embankment has been shown to benefit the health and productivity of trees.

 

 

This is Skelstrupmark's neighbouring orchard, planted with 53% Frederiksdal, 17% Kelleris, 17% Ungarische Traube and 13% Favorit cherry varietals.

 

Jørgenmark is planted with the same large spaces between the rows as Skelstrupmark. Based on consultation with horticulturalists, we've designated a corner of the field for experiments with more closely planted orchards and alternative harvesting methods