Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Danmark) in Northern Europe with its capital Copenhagen consists of three parts. The heartland covers 43,094 km², of which 23,872 km² are accounted for by the Jutland peninsula and the rest by islands. The Faroe Islands (1,395.74 km²) are an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark and consist of a group of 18 islands in the North Atlantic. Greenland is a politically self-governing component of the Kingdom and, at 2,166,086 km², is the largest island in the world. Most of the country's territory lies in the North Atlantic or Arctic Ocean. Denmark's only land border is with Germany. The 7,845-metre-long Öresund Bridge has formed a fixed traffic route to Sweden since July 2000 (see map). Since 2022, the Hans Island has also had a border with Canada.

Viticulture

Denmark is not important in wine-growing, but people have always enjoyed wine there. One of the most prominent wine lovers was King Christian IV (1577-1648). For his numerous festivities, he had barrels of Riesling imported from the German wine-growing region of the Middle Rhine. Since August 2000, Denmark has been recognised as a wine-growing region by the European Union. This means that Danish wine can be sold for commercial purposes. The maximum cultivation area approved by the EU is 99 hectares. Permitted are among others the white wine varieties Auxerrois, Bacchus, Chardonnay, Ehrenbreitsteiner, Goldriesling, Huxelrebe, Kerner, Kernling, Madeleine Angevine, Merzling, Optima, Ortega, Pearl of Zala (Zala Gyöngye), Phoenix, Pinot Blanc, Précoce de Malingre, Regner, Siegerrebe and Solaris, as well as the red wine varieties Cabernet Cortis, Muskat Donskoi, Dunkelfelder, Léon Millot, Maréchal Foch, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Rondo.

The first wine producer was Skærsøgaard Vin (winemaker Sven Moesgaard) near Kolding in south-east Jutland close to the coast (Little Belt). Red wine, white wine and sparkling wine are produced here. Other producers are Dansk Vincenter, Frederiksborg Vin, Vinperlen, Domain Aalsgaard (all on the island of Zealand) and Lille Gadegaard (island of Bornholm). There are over 20 winegrowers. The products were initially only allowed to be marketed as "table wine". In 2007, the EU allowed the region, vintage and grape variety to be indicated on the label for the first time. However, Denmark's most important alcoholic contribution is the aquavit distilled from potatoes or grain with the protected designation of origin "Danske". It is possible that in the future Danish viticulture will gain more importance due to climate change.

Map: © Goruma
Source 1st paragraph: WIKIPEDIA Denmark