‘Catherine' is our candidate for a wine to accompany game, grilled meat, pâtés, the Danish Christmas table and, especially, cheese. An unfortified wine offering a lingering sweetness, it can best be compared, perhaps, to an Amarone or Recioto - but it's entirely its own.

 

80% of the wine comes from our top field, Nielstrupmark. There we grow ‘Birgitte', a rich, berry-saturated varietal of the Stevnsbær cherry that one might compare to Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, to draw parallels from the world of wine.

 

The remaining 20% of the wine comes from the Stevnsbær varietal ‘Viki', whose name is a contraction of vin and kirse (‘wine' and ‘cherry'). We don't cultivate Viki at Frederiksdal, buying the fruit from a neighbouring farm instead. Although they both belong to the Stevnsbær family, Viki and Birgitte are quite different: Viki has a much rounder, softer and 'plummier' character - not unlike Merlot.

 

The two varietals are vinified the same way. Both are fermented for five days, flesh and pits together, before pressing and further fermentation in stainless steel vats. After malolactic fermentation, they mature for six months to a year in 400-litre casks made by Seguin Moreau, the Rolls-Royce of coopers.

 

‘Catherine' is named for a winemaker from southern France who has taught us a lot about vinous elegance over the years. Merci Catherine.

 

Alcohol: 13%