Totally Stockholm 1
In Vino Päritas Terreno From the soil of Tuscany
to a bottle in Solna Words: Pär Strömberg Photos: Petter Bäcklund The Winery Hotel in Solna is the world’s first hotel with an urban winery in the same building. With its own wine production facility onsite at the hotel and their own vineyard Terreno in Tuscany, it offers a completely new way of living, enjoying and meeting in a place where wine is being created. Their collective knowledge and expertise makes this a top-class wine-making company, and the ambition is to produce quality fine wines where the entire production process can be followed by the hotel’s visitors. Guests can then enjoy the wine at the Winemakers Bar, Winery Kitchen, Italian Terrato Deli and the hotel’s rooftop bar (with a pool). A few weeks ago, it was harvest time again, and 12 tonnes of grapes came from Tuscany to Solna, where school classes and all the staff at the hotel became winery workers for a day. As I had just been visiting the Ruhne family at Terreno in Greve in Chianti, it was with pleasure I then could follow the process of making wine on home turf in Solna. I met up with winery worker/marketing manager Sarah Djerf who explains “The grapes come from a farm in Maremma in southern Tuscany. The wine Winery Red consists of 80 percent Sangiovese and 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and the Black Bottle Rosé is 90 percent Sangiovese and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. We produce approximately 9-10,000 bottles, of which 2,000 is rosé and the rest is red. This year we’ll make twice as much rosé as last year since it sold out at a furious pace this summer”. Since The Winery doesn’t work with vintages, but instead with blends, this current one is Blend 4. This is the third year they’re making wine from grape to bottle in Solna. There are a lot of extra staff on site and Sarah continues: “All our employees at the hotel will assist during harvesting. It is a great activity for cohesion and fellowship. All of our staff are ‘winery workers”, something even more evident during harvest. This year, three high schools were also in place with students from tourism, hotel and restaurant education”. The rosé wine will be launched in early May next year and will only be served at the hotel. The red wine will be launched with the harvest next year, in September 2019. When the Ruhne family, who are also one of the families behind The Winery Hotel, came to the vineyard Terreno in Chianti Classico region in Tuscany in 1988, their new life began. A lot of work was needed to increase the quality of the wines and to shift to sustainable cultivation, which required both knowledge and solid work. When nature is your employer, one must always be ready. By working ecologically, Terreno makes wines that are both full of flavours and antioxidants, and free from toxins. Something that was obvious when we visited the vineyard during harvest. Sofia Ruhne, youngest of four daughters, is the wine producer in charge at Terreno “What is good for nature is also good for us and therefore we have chosen to work ecologically. How we choose to grow affects both body and soul and leaves a clear impression on nature.” It is the love of the earth and the craft that characterises Terreno’s work in wine fields and wine cellars. The oenologist and agronomist responsible at Terreno is Federico Staderini who has worked at the vineyard since the late 90s. Sofia explains: “It is important that we share a long-term approach and a common vision for the farm, especially when implementing the developments we have made over the last 20 years. Federico Staderini also follows a number of other farms in Tuscany, including Poggio di Sotto in Montalcino and Castell ‘in Villa Hier in Chianti”. Sofia’s formal role at Terreno is CEO. Her role includes 14