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Högberga Vinfabrik

Wine made in Lidingö, Sweden from organic Maremma grapes transported 3,000 kilometres north each harvest. Around 7,500 bottles a year, all sold through Systembolaget.

The producer

Högberga Vinfabrik ferments Tuscan grapes in a suburb of Stockholm. Founded in 2004 by Per Hallgren, Johan Hjort, and Johan Zälle, the operation works from a single premise: source ripe Merlot, Sangiovese, and Petit Verdot from two organic farms in Maremma on the Tuscan west coast, load around 10 tons of fruit into refrigerated trucks each harvest, and complete the winemaking entirely in Sweden. The Lidingö facility opened in 2010 after earlier years in a Tyresö garage. Consulting oenologist Luca Rettondini, formerly production manager at Le Macchiole in Bolgheri, has overseen the cellar since 2012.

The range runs to four bottles. The Merlot is aged 12 to 15 months in oak, including casks from Visingsö, a small island in Lake Vättern historically used as a source of naval timber, then a further year in bottle before release. The Clairet uses very short maceration to produce a wine darker than a rosé but lighter than a full red, with raspberry and blood orange rather than oak weight. The Natur Petit Verdot Sangiovese is fermented on natural yeasts, with Petit Verdot supplying dark fruit concentration and Sangiovese adding acidity and cherry brightness. A blueberry-based sparkling fruit wine, Blåbärs-bubbel, sits outside the Maremma grape lineup entirely. Every bottle is distributed through Systembolaget.

Known for

Merlot and Sangiovese-based reds from Tuscan Maremma, fermented and aged in Stockholm, with a portion aged in Swedish oak from Visingsö island.

Notable facts

The story

The Swede Who Moved to Maremma

Johan Zälle did not find his grape source through a broker. He moved his family to Gavorrano, a small hilltop town in the Maremma, while the company was still forming. Co-founder Per Hallgren, who had known Zälle since they were children, flew down to visit. The two walked the farms, ate with the growers, and came back to Sweden with sourcing agreements built on personal acquaintance rather than commercial contract. That arrangement, a Swede living in Tuscany to secure the supply, is why Högberga can name two specific organic farms rather than a broker region, and why the grapes arrive in 20-kilogram crates rather than bulk containers.

From the atlas

Högberga Vinfabrik

At A Glance

The Producer

Högberga Vinfabrik ferments Tuscan grapes in a suburb of Stockholm. The company was founded in 2004 by Per Hallgren, Johan Hjort, and Johan Zälle with a premise almost no European producer has attempted at commercial scale: source ripe Maremma fruit from organic farms on the Tuscan west coast, transport it three days north by refrigerated truck, and make the wine entirely in Sweden.

The Lidingö facility, opened in 2010 after earlier vintages in a garage in Tyresö, produces around 7,500 bottles per year. Every bottle is sold through Systembolaget, the Swedish state retailer. Consulting oenologist Luca Rettondini, who trained at the University of Pisa and served as production manager at Le Macchiole in Bolgheri, has overseen winemaking since 2012.

Place

Högberga occupies two geographies simultaneously. The grapes come from Maremma, the coastal Tuscan zone that runs south from Livorno and includes the appellations of Bolgheri and Morellino di Scansano. Two selected organic farms supply around 10 tons of fruit each harvest, primarily Merlot, Sangiovese, and Petit Verdot, varieties that ripen dependably in Maremma's warm Mediterranean climate.

The wine is made in Lidingö, an island municipality connected by bridge to central Stockholm. No vine grows there. The ferry between terroir and cellar is a three-day refrigerated journey at 8 degrees Celsius, grapes packed in 20-kilogram crates, cooled continuously to arrive intact. On the label, no Italian appellation appears. Högberga is Swedish wine by legal definition, Tuscan wine by grape origin.

Soil And Site

Soil and site belong to Maremma. The two organic farms sit within the coastal Tuscan zone, a warm, relatively dry growing area where heavy clay and alluvial soils give way to better-draining sandy and rocky ground on the low hills inland from the coast. Maremma's heat accumulates enough sugar and phenolic ripeness in Merlot and Petit Verdot to sustain 14 percent alcohol without forced concentration. Sangiovese grown here is fuller and more glycerol-rich than the leaner Chianti expressions further north.

Story

Johan Zälle moved his family to Gavorrano, a small Maremma town, while the company was forming. Living inside the source region meant the supply relationships with Tuscan growers were built in person rather than through an agent. Co-founder Per Hallgren, who had known Zälle since childhood, visited and the sourcing model took its final shape: a personal, direct connection to two farms, not a broker arrangement.

The company began fermenting in a private garage in Tyresö, producing the first vintages at small scale through 2009. When the Lidingö facility opened in 2010 and commercial production became possible, the first full vintage was 7,500 bottles. Bringing in Luca Rettondini in 2012 shifted the cellar work: Rettondini's background at Le Macchiole, one of Bolgheri's benchmark producers, introduced a more precise approach to fermentation temperature management and barrel selection, including the decision to age a portion of the wine in Swedish oak from Visingsö.

Vineyards And Cellar

Grapes arrive at Lidingö in refrigerated trucks and go directly into temperature-controlled fermentation tanks. Fermentation runs at 22 to 28 degrees Celsius, with cooling water applied to the tanks to hold the range. Yeast selection varies by wine: cultured yeasts matched to Bordeaux varieties for the Merlot, Chianti-suited cultures for Sangiovese, and natural fermentation for the Natur range.

Red wines age in oak barrels for 12 to 15 months. The barrel stock is mixed: French Burgundy barriques for the oak-aged reds, and casks from Visingsö, a small island in Lake Vättern in central Sweden historically used as a source of naval timber. Swedish oak imparts different character from French or American alternatives, closer to fine-grained Baltic wood, with less vanilla extraction and more mineral dryness on the palate. After barrel ageing, wines rest a further 12 months in bottle before release.

Wines

The range runs to four bottles, each representing a distinct grape or stylistic position.

Högberga Merlot 2021 is 100 percent Merlot at 14 percent alcohol. It sits at the centre of the range: aged in oak, with plum, blueberry, cocoa, dried currants, coffee, and herb character, and clear barrel integration on the finish. The weight is medium to full, with soft tannins from the Maremma ripeness and the oak ageing program.

Högberga Clairet 2021 takes its name from the traditional Bordeaux style of very short maceration, producing a wine darker than a rosé but lighter than a full red. At 13 percent alcohol, it carries raspberry, redcurrant, strawberry, blood orange, and herbs, with the freshness that brief skin contact preserves. It is the lightest and most food-versatile wine in the range.

Högberga Natur Petit Verdot Sangiovese 2025 is 60 percent Petit Verdot and 40 percent Sangiovese at 14 percent alcohol, fermented on natural yeasts. Petit Verdot brings dark fruit concentration and herbal depth; Sangiovese adds acidity and cherry brightness. The combination gives dark cherries, blackberries, nutmeg, and herbs, with more grip than the Merlot.

Högberga Blåbärs-bubbel 2020 is a sparkling fruit wine at 13.5 percent alcohol, blueberry-based with spice, vanilla, cherry, sloe berry, and barrel character. It sits outside the Maremma grape lineup and occupies a separate position in the range.

In The Glass

The Merlot opens with ripe dark fruit, plum and blueberry dominant, with a cocoa and coffee note that comes from the combination of Maremma ripeness and oak ageing. On the palate, the tannins are soft and rounded, the body medium-full, the finish carrying dried herb and currant. The alcohol is fully integrated at 14 percent.

The Clairet is brighter and more aromatic: red berry fruit, strawberry, and blood orange with a light herbal edge, a wine where the short maceration keeps the tannins almost absent and the acidity carries the wine forward. It finishes clean and short.

The Natur Petit Verdot Sangiovese is the firmest wine in the range. Natural fermentation leaves slightly more texture on the mid-palate, and the Petit Verdot component drives dark fruit and a green herb note alongside the Sangiovese cherry. Tannins are more present than in the Merlot, and the finish is longer.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Högberga Merlot 2021. It is 100 percent Merlot from Maremma organic farms, aged 12 to 15 months in oak and a further year in bottle, and it is the wine where every element of the Högberga method is most legible: the ripe Tuscan fruit character, the measured oak integration, the soft tannins from the long ageing program. Plum, blueberry, and cocoa on the nose, a rounded mid-palate with coffee and herb, and a finish that holds without hardness. At 14 percent alcohol it is full-ripe but not heavy. It is also the bottle most likely to be in stock at any Systembolaget branch.

Anecdote

Johan Zälle did not find his grape source through a broker. He moved his family to Gavorrano, a small hilltop town in the Maremma, while the company was still forming. Co-founder Per Hallgren, who had known Zälle since they were children, flew down to visit. The two walked the farms, ate with the growers, and came back to Sweden with sourcing agreements built on personal acquaintance rather than commercial contract. That arrangement, a Swede living in Tuscany to secure the supply, is why Högberga can name two specific organic farms rather than a broker region, and why the grapes arrive in 20-kilogram crates rather than bulk containers.

Final Word

Högberga Vinfabrik holds an unlikely position: a Swedish wine producer making credible reds from Tuscan Maremma fruit, with a Bolgheri-trained oenologist and a barrel program that includes Swedish oak from a medieval naval timber island. At 7,500 bottles a year, it is a small operation. The wines are available at Systembolaget and repay attention from anyone curious about where wine can actually be made.

Sources