For three years, Bjørnar Longård has waited for the small grapes to ripen, and for his vines to be healthy and strong enough to bear the golden berries. For now, wine production is quite modest, but more is coming. – This requires a lot of patience, and I don’t have much of that, laughs the 70-year-old. Bjørnar Longård has set up a high fence around the vines. – I don’t want animals visiting here, he says. Photo: Espen Sandmo / news High fence with barbed wire We are standing inside a small fenced area. The high fence with barbed wire is needed to protect the plants from moose, deer and roe deer. The vines stand a few hundred meters from the guest house he runs all alone in the village of Foldereid in Trøndelag. – I took over the place in 2014, and have built up a good business with a lot of visitors, he says. He has been both an assistant professor and a chef, and should actually be retired. But he is far from that. – No, there are busy days, but that’s how I like it. Now I can call myself a wine farmer, and I am proud of that title, he says. The vines were planted three years ago and are growing big and strong. Photo: Espen Sandmo / news Rosé wine and white wine Until now, he has produced a few bottles of wine, based on his own grapes. – I have primarily made rosé wine and white wine, but I have some grapes that can be suitable for the production of red wine as well, he says. The wine is served to the guests, together with food that is based exclusively on local ingredients. – There are moose and sheep from the immediate area here. Mushrooms and berries from the surrounding forests, and fruit and vegetables from my own garden, says the wine farmer. This white wine from Foldereid has gone down well with many of the guests who visit the village in Nærøysund municipality. Photo: Espen Sandmo / news – Willing for Norwegian wine His guests come from all over the world. The guest house is located close to Kystriksvegen, and is visited by many tourists in the summer. – I have had guests from many countries in Europe, from the USA and South Korea. They really appreciate the food I make, and not least the wine they get with it. They are simply completely wild for Norwegian wine, he says. – The fact that we produce wine in Norway is better known abroad than here. This summer I had some Germans visiting, and I welcomed them to the world’s northernmost vineyard. And they had read about it at home in Germany, says the 70-year-old. – An American fell in love with my white wine, and will return next year to taste more, he laughs. Director Nina Sundqvist of the Norsk Mat foundation has great faith in Norwegian wine production in the future. Photo: Nils John Porsanger Modest production Norwegian wine production is still very modest, and most of what Norwegians drink is imported from abroad. But more and more people are betting on wine. Especially in the south of Norway. – Good wine and good food are needed to make a good meal. We greatly appreciate that more and more people are trying their hand at wine production, says managing director Nina Sundqvist of the Norsk Mat foundation. – But it is not easy. We are mostly used to good wines from abroad. Now we hope that the wine producers will cooperate, as Norwegian beer and cider producers have been able to do in recent years. There is a lot of trial and error at the start, but we believe many will succeed, says Sundqvist. The vintner from Foldereid believes the location is absolutely crucial for a good result. – The sun rises at 5 a.m., and is up until 10 p.m. in the summer. It is very beneficial, because these plants are more dependent on light than heat. In addition, we have the fjord just below here, which is heated by the Gulf Stream. It provides stable heat, and therefore we avoid cold shock in the spring, says Longård. The grapes at Foldereid thrive in the mild Trønder climate. Photo: Espen Sandmo / news Solaris grape It is especially the so-called Solaris grape that is popular among Norwegian wine producers. In 2021, a Norwegian white wine based on the Solaris grape won a major international competition. Producers from major wine countries such as Italy and Germany also participated. – The wine I have made with the Solaris grape here at Foldereid has much of the same taste, says Longård. Over the years, he envisions ever-increasing wine production at Foldereid. The vines keep growing bigger and stronger, and he has a large area next to the fenced area that is not being used. – So for whoever comes after me, there are unimaginable possibilities, laughs the sprightly vintner at Foldereid.
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Bjørnar Longård makes wine at Foldereid – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
