News

The 2009 experimental vintage of Rondo, a wine produced from temperature-resistant grapes by scientists at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, earned a high degree of appreciation at the annual congress of  the European Oenogastronomic Brotherhoods Council in Bordeaux, France. 

"In blind tastings, Rondo was thought to have come from one of the recognized wine regions and its Estonian origin just struck people as unbelievable," said Professor Kadri Karp, who supervises viticultural research at the university's Rõhu Experimental Center. "Next year we will have [specialist] visitors coming to see this 'wonder,'" she said.

Scientists from the horticultural department have joined forces with their colleagues at the food hygiene department in studying the concentrations of beneficial polyphenols - strong antioxidant agents - in red wine. In laboratory tests, polyphenol concentrations in wines produced from northern grape varieties have compared well with the traditional Southern European wines. "We can happily say that as far as beneficial compounds go, our northern wines do not lose out to southern ones," said Karp.

However, the 2010 vintage will not be tickling the palates of connoisseurs, since most of this summer's yield at Rõhu has fallen prey to local foxes and raccoons.