World-class wine is being made in a corner of Sweden. Yes, Sweden

学习目标

• 串起气候、品种、餐饮与销售渠道的作用
• 拆解Such ... that和比较结构倒装
• 区分一般零售制度与后来设立的例外
• 读懂宴会赢家、酒桶一滴和结尾诺奖的双关

AT THE NOBEL PRIZE banquet in Stockholm in December, not all the winners were seated at the table. A victor of a different kind could be found in the diners’ wine glasses. In 2024 a blind tasting had pitted a dozen of Europe’s finest wines against a dozen wines from Sweden. An international panel of 18 independent experts declared Immelen, a white wine from Kullabergs, a winery in the Skane region of southern Sweden, the overall winner, above famous whites from France, Italy and Spain. That made Immelen the obvious choice for the Nobel banquet. It was a coming-out party for Swedish wine.

12月在斯德哥尔摩举行的诺贝尔奖晚宴上，并非所有赢家都坐在餐桌旁。 另一种赢家，就在宾客的酒杯里。 2024年的一次盲品，让12款欧洲顶级葡萄酒与12款瑞典葡萄酒同场较量。 由18名独立专家组成的国际评审团宣布，来自瑞典南部斯科讷地区Kullabergs酒庄的白葡萄酒Immelen是总冠军，排名超过法国、意大利和西班牙的著名白葡萄酒。 这使Immelen自然成为诺贝尔晚宴的用酒选择。 这场晚宴成了瑞典葡萄酒正式亮相的舞台。

Sweden is “a young wine country”, says Victor Dahl, chief executive of Kullabergs. EU approval for winemaking in Sweden and Denmark, required for commercial production, was granted only in 1999. There are now about 50 commercial wineries in Sweden. Sales are still tiny—just a drop in the barrel by global standards—but growing quickly.

Kullabergs首席执行官Victor Dahl说，瑞典是“一个年轻的葡萄酒国家”。 瑞典和丹麦直到1999年才获得商业酿酒所需的欧盟批准。 如今，瑞典约有50家商业酒庄。 销量依然很小——按全球标准，只相当于酒桶里的一滴——但增长很快。

At the Nobel banquet, Mr Dahl moonlighted as a waiter so he could hear what the diners thought. Such was their level of interest that he was soon unmasked and invited to introduce the wine. “They had so many questions,” he recalls.

在诺贝尔晚宴上，Dahl先生临时兼做服务员，好听听宾客如何评价。 他们的兴趣如此浓厚，以至于他的身份很快就被认出，并受邀介绍这款酒。 他回忆说：“他们有太多问题了。”

And no wonder. That wine can be made in Sweden at all may come as a surprise. Global warming has helped. But “climate change is also bad for us,” says Mr Dahl. Although the climate is warmer overall, it is also unpredictable: since 2018 every growing season has been different. Sweden’s long summer days provide plenty of sunshine to ripen grapes. Indeed, slower ripening may enhance flavour.

这也难怪。 瑞典竟然也能酿葡萄酒，这件事本身就可能令人惊讶。 全球变暖帮了忙。 但Dahl先生说：“气候变化对我们也有坏处。” 虽然总体气候变暖了，却也难以预测：自2018年以来，每个生长季都各不相同。 瑞典夏季白昼漫长，提供充足日照，使葡萄成熟。 事实上，成熟得更慢，也可能增强风味。

Immelen is a blend. It is two-thirds Solaris, a descendant of Riesling and Pinot Gris created in 1975, and now Sweden’s most widely planted varietal. The rest is Souvignier Gris and a dash of Muscaris (a cross between Solaris and Muscat). The resulting wine is surprisingly full-bodied, with none of the under-ripeness often found in cool-climate wines. It reminded this correspondent of a high-end Sancerre.

Immelen是一款混酿。 其中三分之二为Solaris，这个品种于1975年培育而成，谱系可追溯到雷司令和灰皮诺，如今已是瑞典种植最广的葡萄品种。 其余为Souvignier Gris和少量Muscaris，后者是Solaris与Muscat杂交的品种。 酿出的酒酒体饱满得令人惊喜，没有凉爽气候葡萄酒常见的成熟不足感。 它让本文记者想起一款高档桑塞尔葡萄酒。

Just as significant as climate change has been the rise of New Nordic cuisine, a gastronomic culture centred on Copenhagen and Malmo. Skane is sometimes referred to as the “Nordic Tuscany” and is being promoted as a tourist destination for foodies. In this part of the world seasonal tasting menus abound, and foragers gather local ingredients for restaurants. Magnus Nilsson—whose previous restaurant, Faviken, earned two Michelin stars—has recently opened a new one in Skane, as has Titti Qvarnstrom, the first Swedish woman to win a star. Being able to serve local wine with local food has obvious appeal.

与气候变化同样重要的，是新北欧料理的兴起；这是一种以哥本哈根和马尔默为中心的美食文化。 斯科讷有时被称为“北欧托斯卡纳”，正被推广为美食爱好者的旅游目的地。 在这一带，时令品鉴菜单十分普遍，采集者为餐厅搜集本地食材。 Magnus Nilsson此前的餐厅Faviken曾获米其林二星，他最近在斯科讷开了一家新餐厅；首位获得米其林星级的瑞典女性Titti Qvarnstrom也在当地开了新店。 本地美食能搭配本地葡萄酒，自然很有吸引力。

History has also played a part. Sweden’s government ran a campaign from 1957-85 to encourage Swedes to drink wine, rather than spirits, for health reasons. This created a strong wine culture just as European travel was getting cheaper, prompting Swedish wine buffs to engage in wine tourism. But now they can do it at home. The covid-19 pandemic helped, too: Swedish wine critics who were unable to go abroad started to pay more attention to the viticulture scene on their doorstep.

历史也起了一定作用。 1957年至1985年，瑞典政府曾基于健康方面的考虑，开展鼓励国民饮用葡萄酒而非烈酒的宣传。 这培育出浓厚的葡萄酒文化，恰逢欧洲旅行越来越便宜，促使瑞典葡萄酒爱好者参与葡萄酒旅游。 但如今，他们在国内就能这样旅行。 新冠疫情也帮了忙：无法出国的瑞典酒评人，开始更多地关注家门口的葡萄栽培与酿酒行业。

Oddly the Systembolaget, the government monopoly on the sale of alcohol through a national network of shops, has also helped. It bans Swedish wineries from selling bottles over the counter, though they can sell wine for consumption on the premises, for example at an on-site bar. To get into the Systembolaget shops, Swedish winemakers must achieve consistent quality and volume. Systembolaget acts as “an extraordinary quality-control mechanism”, says Joe Fattorini, a British wine guru who now lives in Sweden. Once a winery wins approval, as Kullabergs has, distribution is in effect handled by the government.

奇怪的是，Systembolaget这一通过全国门店网络实行酒类零售专卖的国有体系，也提供了帮助。 它禁止瑞典酒庄直接在柜台出售整瓶酒，但允许出售供顾客在场内饮用的葡萄酒，例如在酒庄内的酒吧。 要进入Systembolaget门店，瑞典酿酒商必须在品质和产量上保持稳定。 如今居住在瑞典的英国葡萄酒行家Joe Fattorini说，Systembolaget发挥着“一种非凡的质量控制机制”的作用。 一旦酒庄像Kullabergs那样获准进入，分销实际上就由国有体系负责。

The contrast with neighbouring Denmark, which lacks such restrictions, is telling. Denmark has fewer hectares of vines than Sweden, but roughly three times as many producers and a wider range of styles. That means more experimentation, but greater variation in quality.

与没有这类限制的邻国丹麦相比，差异颇能说明问题。 丹麦葡萄种植面积比瑞典小，但生产商数量约为其三倍，风格也更多样。 这意味着更多试验，但品质差异也更大。

Things are changing in Sweden, however. After much lobbying, the law was changed to allow “cellar-door sales” by wineries from June 2025. There are still restrictions—sales are permitted only as part of an educational experience lasting at least 30 minutes—and the rule-change is subject to a six-year trial. Sweden’s wine industry is still in its infancy and lacks the long history of winemaking in other parts of Europe. But you do not need a Nobel prize to see its potential.

不过，瑞典的情况正在改变。 经过大量游说，法律作出修改，自2025年6月起允许酒庄进行“酒庄直销”。 限制仍在：销售只能作为至少持续30分钟的知识性参访体验的一部分，而这一规则变化处于为期六年的试行之中。 瑞典葡萄酒业仍处于起步阶段，没有欧洲其他地区那样悠久的酿酒历史。 但要看出它的潜力，可不需要拿过诺贝尔奖。

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