Sign at the front of the winery.
Today we visited Vejrhøj Winery. We did a tour around their vineyard and learned about how they grow eight different varieties of grapes. What is interesting about this vineyard is that it is not only organic and run by two retired economists, but it is at the forefront of producing grapes that are tolerant of the Danish weather to produce a uniquely Danish product. They grow eight different varieties of grapes: five varieties of green grapes (their main varieties), and three varieties of red grapes as a part of their work to produce red wines in Denmark.
Pictured to the left is one of their many rows of green grapes. I was really interested in how they manage their grapes and keep them organic. The owners are focused on preventing mildew infestations on their grape plants so they use varieties that have been bred to resist mildew and also treat their fields with sulfur twice a year to help prevent mildew. It may seem like there isn't a lot that they can do to prevent mildew, but their efforts have been mostly successful and they have continued to receive the Organic Area Grant from the EU to help support their organic vineyard. They don't use any additional fertilizers and don't water their grape vines during droughts, which forces the plants to be resilient and grow deep root structures to get enough water. They so far have not needed to use anything to help the plants grow and they plan on doing some soil sample testing to evaluate if their soil is nutrient deficient. I thought it was interesting that the grape plants don't need a lot of nitrogen and as long as the other minerals are present in the soil, planting clover between the rows of grapes provides enough nitrogen for the plants to grow well on their own.
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