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Estonian wine? You must be joking!

As the good reader of Eesti Elu is enjoying dinner with some fine wine from the Okanagan Valley (perhaps a bottle from Quails' Gate?), the thought crosses her or his mind that perhaps they could recreate this enjoyable scene in rural Estonia. But is wine even made in Estonia? Is it not the land of vodka and beer?

Rest assured, times have changed in Estonia. No, unfortunately, the country has not been relocated next to Italy and far away from Russia, but as the English language homepage for the “Estonian Wine Trail” (or in Estonian, „Eesti Veinitee“) will clearly show you, there are now twenty-three wineries in Estonia (the proper term in Estonian is „veinitalu“).

Photo from the Aru Manor homepage

If you scroll down a little bit on the Estonian Wine Trail page, you will see that Estonia is practically swimming (perhaps “drowning” is a better word) in wineries, including on the island of Saaremaa. It is a pity grandfather and grandmother had to leave Estonia too early, before Estonia became overrun with wine châteaux.

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