Right from the beginning it was decided – against all recommendations – that three rules would guide the wine-making at Frederiksdal:
- The wine will ferment spontaneously
- The wine will not be sulfurized
- The wine will not be filtered
All these rules still pertain.
When one has previously talked about cherry wine, it can not be compared with the cherry wines from Frederiksdal.
Past cherry wine typically consisted of juice, sugar and alcohol, which at best stored for a few years in wooden barrels, but there was never any fermentation. Frederiksdal is the first and so far the only one in the world to do so. That the wine consists exclusively of cherries, and that it ferments, gives an intense and deep taste experience that is beyond comparison.
When the cherries arrive at the Winery a few hours after the harvest, the whole berries are pumped into fermentation tanks with room for about 20,000 l.
This is where the game fermentation starts. After three to five days, the berries are lightly pressed and pumped on to steel tanks, where the fermentation process continues in the coming months.
When the alcohol content has reached the desired level, which is around 14%, the wines are distributed:
Some wines come in 25 l demi-Johns and stand outside on Rancio Square, where it is stored for a minimum of two years.
The wine stands outside in all kinds of weather - sun, rain, frost and snow - and develops a very special taste profile. We say that it gets the taste of Lolland. The method is known from Maderia, Porto and Banyules and Maury, where it has been used for centuries.
After a few years in the balloons, the wine continues its development inside for a few more years on French cognac casks.
Other wines come directly from the steel tanks to various French oak barrels, where they are often stored for several years.
Finally, part of the wine remains on the steel tanks before being bottled. It will be Frederiksdal Vintage.
And then there are all the projects, which are also part of Frederiksdal's DNA. Projects that so far have resulted in sparkling wines, liqueurs, eau de vie and vermouth.