Top 100 wines of Norway

Discovering the wine region of Norway

Norway is a Nordic country located in the west of the Scandinavian peninsula. Its eastern neighbour is Sweden, but it also borders Finland and Russia in the far North. Due to its cold Climate and rugged, mountainous landscape, Norway is the second least populated country in Europe. As a country whose northern half is covered in snow for much of the year and which sees little or no sunshine between November and January, it is hardly surprising that Norway is not among the world's leading wine-producing countries.

Although the climate is slightly warmer in the South and west of this Long, thin country, any difference in temperature is due to the maritime influence of the North Sea and is therefore accompanied by significantly more rainfall. Norway's climate may not be well suited to viticulture, but the country remains among the top consumers of wine, beer and spirits in Europe. Beer and vodka are the only alcoholic beverages produced in Norway in quantity. Norwegian vodka is particularly interesting and is produced by several distilleries and under several brands.

Akvavit, a traditional Scandinavian flavoured spirit, is also produced in Norway. It is flavoured with caraway, dill or other similar herbs and is stylistically situated between Kummel and the buffalo grass vodka made in Poland, on the other side of the Baltic Sea. It has a special place in Norwegian culture and heritage. Beer and spirits production has increased since government regulations were relaxed in 2005.