From Sweden's Coast to a Tuscan Table: The Strandåkra Vingård Sparkling Wine Story

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 1/09/2026

From Sweden's Coast to a Tuscan Table: The Strandåkra Vingård Sparkling Wine Story

Some of the best wine stories begin not in vineyards, but between friends. When a friend of mine, Katarina Andersson of Grapevine Adventures, a Swedish wine writer, came to visit me in Tuscany for a few relaxed days, we both knew that “relaxing” would inevitably involve opening bottles, sharing impressions, and talking endlessly about wine. When she stepped off the train, her bag held an exciting surprise: a couple of bottles of sparkling wine from a tiny southern Swedish winery she had recently visited and brought back to Italy.

I was very curious. Sweden is hardly known as a classic wine country. Sitting at around 55 degrees north latitude, it lies just beyond the traditional wine-growing belt between the 30th and 50th parallels. And yet, with shifting climate patterns and a new generation of determined growers, Swedish wine is no longer a novelty—it’s becoming a serious, if still rare, expression of cool-climate viticulture.

The Story of Strandåkra Vingård

Strandåkra Vingård began in 2004 on the southern coast of Skåne, where vineyards are still a rarity and the Baltic Sea shapes both the landscape and the climate. The winery is the personal project of Eva Nilsdotter Olsson, a first-generation winemaker with deep agricultural roots. Before planting vines, Eva trained as a horticulturist and worked in agricultural research and development, gaining hands-on experience with crops, soils, and sustainable farming. Wine was not an obvious next step in Sweden, but her curiosity for grapes and fermentation had been growing quietly for years.

When Eva moved to Strandåkra, her husband’s family farm traditionally dedicated to potatoes, onions, and grains, she asked for a small piece of land to experiment with vines. What started as a modest trial soon became a serious commitment. Making wine in Sweden meant facing a cool, humid climate, short growing seasons, and little local precedent to rely on. Rather than fighting these conditions, Eva embraced them, choosing grape varieties capable of ripening early and retaining freshness. PIWI grapes like Solaris and Johanniter, along with Seyval Blanc, bred primarily for cold tolerance and fungal disease resistance, proved well suited—allowing her to work organically from the beginning and to minimize intervention both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

Over time, sparkling wine emerged as the most natural expression of Strandåkra’s coastal terroir. The high acidity and slow ripening typical of the region lend themselves beautifully to traditional-method sparkling wines, which Eva produces in very small quantities using her own equipment. Today, production remains intentionally limited—just a few hundred bottles per year—sold mainly to local restaurants and visitors to the farm. Strandåkra is not about volume or imitation, but about patience, place, and the belief that even at the northern edge of Europe, wine can tell a compelling and authentic story.

Tasting the Strandåkra Brut Nature 2019 and 2022

We tasted two vintages of Eva’s traditional-method Brut Nature, 2022 (Sparta) and 2019 (Den gamle och havet), which beautifully demonstrated how grape choice and aging shape the final wine. Crafted entirely on-site, including meticulous riddling on pupitres, the 2022, made from Solaris, Seyval Blanc, and Johanniter, offered a lean, linear profile, driven by bright citrus, crisp green apple, delicate herbal notes, and a firm, focused backbone of acidity. Taut and precise, it exuded youthful energy and clarity, with a palate that felt direct, vibrant, and immediately approachable.

By contrast, the 2019, produced in just 278 bottles from Solaris, Seyval Blanc, and a touch of Melon de Bourgogne (replaced by Johanniter in later vintages), was richer and more layered. Fresh yet complex, it revealed aromas of ripe white-fleshed fruit, candied lemon peel, and a subtle hint of honey. On the palate, it displayed a rounder texture and integrated acidity, conveying early maturity while maintaining lively tension and vibrancy.