Three ice cider producers with the same ethos pursuing the same goals of excellence in producing true ice cider have come together to agree on what a Botnia Ice Cider should be and how to produce it. The proposed protected status they are applying for stretches on an east/west axis across the national border between Finland and Sweden an area that historically in terms of shared trade and kinship has always been more important in each respective region than the more traditional north/south axis. Together these producers represent a large part of the current global production of true ice cider.
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Brännland Iscider, Sweden
Out of the three producers that are applying together for protected status now Brännland Iscider was the earliest releasing their first ice cider made from Swedish apples and sub arctic cold in 2012, entering Systembolaget broadly in September of 2013. The company today produces only sweet ice wine style ice ciders with a yearly output around 100.000 bottles for both the domestic and the international markets. The company has been in the forefront in the development of Swedish craft cider as well as Swedish wine. Brännland Iscider is continually served in some of the best restaurants in the world, was the first Swedish wine to be served at a Nobel Prize banquet (December 2022) and in December 2023 won the sweet wine tenders for Lufthansa First Class in competition with the best European producers of sweet wine. Between 2014 and 2024 the company has initiated and executed on planting 12.000 apple trees in northern Sweden both as directly owned and operated orchards as well as in collaboration with other potential growers. The work has been carried through using funding from the EU (Eip-agri as well as other sources) and has encompassed a total budget of well over one million Euro. The end goal is to lay the foundation for new agriculture in northern Scandinavia aimed at producing fruit for an ice cider region with international renown and with its own protected status.
brannlandiscider.se
Bute Cider, Sweden
Bute Cider is a small Umeå-based producer specializing in making world-class ice ciders from local apples. The company produces a few hundred liters of ice cider annually and sell to some of the top restaurants in Sweden. The founder of Bute, Jeff Lewis, was born in Quebec where ice cider was invented in the 1990’s. After moving to Umeå in 2006, he noticed the many local backyard apple trees. By 2017 Bute was producing small volumes of still ice cider for personal use. A chance encounter with Inniskillen Sparkling Ice Wine from the Niagara region of Canada inspired the development of what is now Bute’s signature product – Bute sparkling ice cider. The last step of the 18-month long fermentation is done in sealed stainless-steel tanks using a modified Charmat method. Bute Cider aims to keep production at a level where quality is uncompromised. We have recently planted a 300-tree apple orchard in Umeå that will provide us with fruit for decades to come. We share Brännland Iscider’s conviction in the uniqueness of the terroir of Västerbotten to produce world class ice cider and we hope that other cideries will soon join us to create a vibrant ice cider culture in northern Sweden. Bute Cider sparkling ice cider became the second Swedish winery to be served at the Nobel Banquette in 2024.
butecider.se
Liselunds Cider, Finland
The company was founded in 2022 by Maria and Anders Wingren and is based on the eponymous farm Liselunds Gård located in Nykarleby, on the Ostrobothnian coast of Finland north of Vasa. They grow apples suited specifically for the climate as dictated by being located in Finnish horticultural zone 4. The main production focus is on ice cider produced using natural cold and fruit grown locally and regionally within the horticultural zone. Ice ciders in Finland have been produced previously but mostly using artificial cold to concentrate sugars in the fruit but Liselund is the first producer to embrace natural cold entirely in their production. In terms of quality Liselund strives to produce ice cider of the highest standard, to compete with the best ice ciders as well as ice wines in an international market. The first commercially available vintage “Fari” 2022 was released in fall 2023 with the second slated for release in autumn 2024 - both Bure 2023 and Täppon 2023 were honored with gold medals in Swiss Cider Awards. The 2024 vintage sees a scaled-up production by 400% indicating a growing demand.
liselund.fi