Why it matters
The producer
On the island of Lolland in southern Denmark, Frederiksdal Kirsebærvin makes wine from Stevnsbær cherries grown on 44 hectares of orchard. The Stevnsbær is a Danish cherry variety with an unusually high natural acidity, and it is that acidity, which the producers describe as the DNA of the fruit, giving Frederiksdal wines the backbone to carry fermentation on skins and stones, extended lees contact, French oak ageing, and vintage blending without losing freshness.
Harald Krabbe, Jan Friis Mikkelsen, and Morten Brink Iwersen founded the estate roughly twelve years before 2023. They developed production methods from scratch, applying vinification techniques drawn from centuries of grape-wine practice to the Stevnsbær cherry: full fermentation, oak ageing, lees contact, and vintage blending, not filtration and sweetening in the manner of commercial fruit wine. Wine reviewers called this a breakthrough for Danish wine production.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Lolland is a flat, low-lying Danish island in the southern Baltic. The island's Stevnsbær cherries carry a balance of acidity and sugar that sets them apart from commercial sweet cherry varieties. That acidity is fundamental to the winemaking approach at Frederiksdal: without it, fermentation to dryness and extended oak contact would leave the wines without the grip to hold their fruit character.
Harpelunde, the estate's address, is in the interior of Lolland, where the orchards supply all of the fruit the winery uses.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The 44 hectares of Stevnsbær orchards are certified under Global Gap. Cherries come from both young and old trees, and the two contribute differently: young trees give fruit and freshness, older trees add depth and weight.
In the cellar, the method changes by wine. For the Vintage, cherries are fermented on their skins and stones for four to five days to extract complexity, then pressed and finished in stainless steel to preserve fruit character. The Sur Lie is aged on its lees in French oak, a process that produces a richer, deeper wine through contact with yeast sediment over time. The lees-aged wines bring together multiple vintages, with younger vintages contributing fresh, lighter fruit notes and older vintages adding more complex tones.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range at Frederiksdal runs from an approachable sparkling wine to a Solera and a Rancio aged in an extended fractional-blending system.
The Vintage is the most fruit-forward expression, made with cherries from both young and old trees and finished in stainless steel; it is the range's clearest statement of fresh Stevnsbær cherry character. The Sur Lie steps up in complexity through lees contact in French oak and multi-vintage blending, with the younger vintages bringing lightness and fruit brightness and the mature ones contributing more layered, secondary tones. RØD is a sparkling demi-sec with deep red colour and a lively mousse. The Likør carries intense cherry sweetness with a hint of chocolate and a citrus edge on the finish. The Solera and Rancio are the estate's most oxidative wines, built through fractional ageing.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The Sur Lie is the bottle that shows what separates Frederiksdal from commercial cherry wine. It is a multi-vintage blend of Stevnsbær cherry wine aged on its lees in French oak barrels. The younger vintages in the blend bring the bright cherry fruit forward; the older vintages introduce more complex, layered notes that sit underneath. Richer and deeper than the Vintage, it carries oak-derived texture and a long finish built on the Stevnsbær's natural acidity rather than added sweetness.