I kid you not. This is true. It has happened. A Swedish wine of some class has emerged. _What_ class is however ... well, read on.
We grow faily good apples in Sweden - that, strawberries, and, of course, cloudberries, are the fruits we really can say are good products from Swedish soil. So, why shouldn´t someone make a good cider or similar? A calvados, even? Well, because that would have to be a feat of daring enterprise of course, and, candidly, enterprise is looked at with some apprehension and suspicion in Sweden. If said enterprise is of an alcoholic pertsuasion, so much the worse. Never the less, somebody has produced an apple wine, matured for 4 years, partially in large glass bottles stored in open air. Juice slightly concentrade using some sort of freezing method. The result is called Rancio, meaning rancid, though not in Swedish. COntains 14.5 % alc by volume and apparently is not fortified. [C] AMber, rather dark, not quite limpid [N] Very complex, starts as a Fino sherry but contains other aspects, pepper, burnt rubber - oxydized. [P] Very dry, fruit is obscured by fiery notes of curry, hot spice, and a fat acid, also vegal matter I find very hard to classify.
Sold as an aperitif but I´d rather have it as an accompaniment for tapas - we tried crostini with tapenade and that was a good match. SEK 135 for 500 ml? EU 14,67? Well, I can´t see this as our next mega-export-hit-product, but, definitely different, and, not at all like thsoe soda-pop ciderosities hawked in the supermarkets and gas stations. Very definitely not like them.
Cheers
Nils Gustaf
-- Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se