Vinkällan returns to Stockholm Food & Wine to meet curious wine lovers and spread their passion for wine knowledge. As the Nordic region’s largest sommelier school, they offer both education and experiences. At this year’s fair, they go on a Wine Safari – a guided tasting tour where you as a participant get to discover new flavors and learn to judge wine like a pro.
Hello Vinkällan! Good to see you again. Why did you choose to come back to us?
– We love meeting curious wine lovers. Stockholm Food & Wine brings together exactly that audience: engaged visitors who want to learn more, taste widely and find their style. As the largest sommelier school in the Nordic region (founded in 1996), our mission is to make wine knowledge accessible and fun – from the first curious step to in-depth study. The fair gives us the chance to inspire on site, meet past and future students and show how our digital and physical education opens doors to a wider world of wine.
You’re running a Wine Safari at the fair – tell us, what does that mean?
– The wine safari is a guided tour of the fair for about an hour where we sample wines, cheeses and chocolates – often things you may not have tried before. We visit selected stands where each exhibitor gives a short presentation of their products, while our teachers guide how to assess style, quality and easy food matching. The Safari is perfect for those who want to discover new things in a fun, structured and social way.
Since you are wine tasting professionals, do you have any tips for our visitors who taste many wines in one day?
-Absolutely! Here is our “fair survival”:
- Spit & water: Use a spittoon, drink water between glasses and take breaks.
- Smart order: Start light to strong, dry before sweet, low tannin before high, cool before warm. Sparkling and fresh whites before full-bodied whites/oak, then reds, finish with sweet/fortified.
- Three steps: Look – Smell – Taste (focus on acidity, tannin, richness, length).
- Clearing the senses: Water/bread to clear the mouth. Smell your own skin if your nose gets tired. Avoid strong perfume.
- Take smart notes: Photograph the label, write 2-3 keywords and a quick 1-5 rating.
- Plan your tour: Choose 2-3 themes in advance to make the experience more fun and educational.
- Think food: “What would I eat with this?” – it deepens the understanding right away.
Our philosophy: Drink better, not more. Quality before quantity – then you can stay curious all day.
Thank you for sharing your passion, Vinkällan! We can’t wait to go on a Wine Safari and discover new favorites together.
