Why it matters
The producer
Third-generation owner Bengt Åkesson runs Skepparps with Eva Bergqvist. The farm grows grapes and apples, then turns both crops into wine and cider; that shared fruit-growing base explains why the range is broader than a vineyard-only estate. Solaris supplies the white and sparkling wines, while Rondo and Cabernet Cortis carry the rosé and red side of the cellar.
Wine arrived late in the farm’s history. Skepparps began production in 2011, but fruit growing had been part of the property for generations. That earlier orchard work remains visible in the present range, where cider sits beside wine and grapes are handled within a farm already accustomed to turning local fruit into bottled drinks.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Haväng sits in Verkaådalen, north of Kivik in coastal Skåne. For a Swedish vineyard, the growing season is the central practical fact: grapes must ripen in a limited window, so variety choice has a direct effect on whether fruit reaches the press with enough acidity, flavour and structure for wine.
Skepparps does not trade on a formal European-style appellation name. The useful label clues are instead the producer, Skåne, grape and bottle style: Solaris for still white or sparkling wine, and Rondo with Cabernet Cortis where colour and tannin matter more.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Early work with familiar international grapes did not fit Sweden’s short ripening season as well as hoped. Skepparps responded by concentrating on varieties better suited to its conditions: Solaris became dominant, while Rondo and Cabernet Cortis supplied the colour needed for rosé and red wine. The consequence is a range built from grapes chosen for practical ripening rather than from an imported varietal template.
Mertzling is the next step in that approach. Skepparps added it with longer-lived sparkling wine in mind, linking a vineyard decision to time on lees and development after bottling. Grand Prix Mousserande Solaris already uses traditional-method production, with a second fermentation and lees ageing that turn Solaris fruit into a wine of mousse and layered texture.
Wines to know
The range in view
The white range begins with Solaris in still form. Grand Prix Solaris and Fumé Solaris show the estate’s main grape without the added structure of a second fermentation: the focus is on white-wine fruit, acidity and texture from a grape grown in Skåne’s short season.
Grand Prix Rosé and Grand Prix +15°C rött take the range in a different direction. Rondo and Cabernet Cortis supply the rosé and red material, bringing colour and tannin where Solaris supplies white fruit and acidity. The bottles are separate styles, not variations on the same white-wine recipe.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Grand Prix Mousserande Solaris 2024. It is a Solaris sparkling wine made by the traditional method, with second fermentation in bottle and lees ageing. The bottle brings together the estate’s dominant grape, its need for ripening-ready varieties and its interest in sparkling wine that can develop beyond primary fruit. Expect the experience to centre on lively acidity, fine mousse and lees-derived texture, with Solaris fruit carrying the finish.