Stuart Forster meets winemaker Jānis Mikans and hears the story of making Cremon fruit wine at Krimulda Manor in Sigulda, Latvia.
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The short winter day is coming to its end in Sigulda, Latvia. Shallow piles of slushy snow lie outside of Krimulda Manor. A castle has stood on the estate since the 13th century. Set amid a park, the large manor house famously hosted Tsar Alexander II of Russia back in 1862.
Nearby, the door to an old agricultural building stands open. As I approach, heat and a boozy aroma waft my way.
Jānis Mikans is a powerfully built man. Wearing a straw hat and a black apron, he greets me with a hearty smile and a strong handshake. He has been making fruit wines since 2007. His company, Cremon, is named after the manor’s name in German.
Fruit wine in Latvia
“Help yourself to a glass of my fruit wine,” he says in Russian, gesturing to a long wooden table set beneath shelves holding empty demijohns of varying sizes. We sip his product.
“Can you guess what flavour it is?” he asks.
I can’t. But I don’t recall the last time I nibbled at a dandelion. Yellow dandelion flowers are used by Jānis to make this particular fruit wine.
The process of making fruit wine begins in stainless steel vats. They stand at the far end of the room.
“As I don’t have grapes, I have to find a different way to make wine. Maybe wine is not the correct name,” he shrugs.
“Perhaps I should call it ‘an alcoholic drink with a fruit taste’?” he asks and flashes a cheeky smile.
Inspired by European wine estates
“I’m not competing with France, Spain and Italy. People from those countries enjoy tasting this type of wine,” adds Jānis.
He explains that Krimulda Manor today houses a rehabilitation centre. It draws people from around Europe and beyond.
Visits to wineries in Hungary and France inspired Jānis to offer a similar experience in Latvia. He seized the opportunity after Legislative changes made it possible for people to produce fruit wine in Latvia.
“It takes me two weeks to select the flowers from the dandelions,” he explains. “The weather conditions are important. I need two kilograms of flowers to make two litres of my wine.”
Up to 10 people help with harvesting fruits. Otherwise, Jānis works alone making fruit wines and liqueurs.
Fruit wines and liqueurs
Pictorial cards on the table show a variety of flowers and fruits, along with their names in Latvian, German, Russian and English. Jānis makes wine from all of them. Each ends up with a strength of 13 per cent of alcohol by volume. His liqueurs have a strength of 30 per cent alcohol by volume.
“In good weather, there’s lots of sugar in the berries,” he explains. “I need about 250 grams of sugar per litre, so need to add the rest”.
“I was an engineer by profession and this winemaking started as a hobby. I thought I’d make it for tourists visiting Krimulda Manor. In the first year, I made around 400 litres. The following year it was 4,000 litres. There are now about 20,000 litres here,” says Jānis.
“I don’t use sulphates; so instead of taking about seven months to make a wine, it takes me between one and two years,” he adds.
Cremon winery’s lilac wine won a national award in 2017, ahead of 95 others from across Latvia.
Jānis explains how he has a laboratory where he runs tests on his wine. He recently bought equipment that can check the volume of alcohol to two decimal places.
He picks up a bottle of apple brandy that has been aged for two years in an oak barrel. It has a strength of 51 per cent. “Something to warm on a winter night,” he utters and pours a measure that makes me gasp ahead of stepping into the dusk.
Map of Krimulda Manor
Known as Krimuldas Muiža in Latvian, Krimulda Manor is near Sigulda, Latvia:
Travel to Sigulda
Sigulda is approximately 53 kilometres (33 miles) northwest of Riga, Latvia’s capital city.
A direct train service links the two cities. Rail journeys take as little as 34 minutes.
Driving between Riga and Sigulda typically takes a little less than an hour.
Ryanair operates direct flights to Riga from Leeds-Bradford and London Stansted Airport. KLM operates flights to its hub at Amsterdam Schiphol from across the United Kingdom. From there, it has a codeshare with airBaltic. From London Gatwick, airBaltic operates direct flights to Riga.
Visiting Cremon winery
Wine tastings and guided tours of Krimulda Manor offer opportunities to sample the locally made fruit wines and liqueurs. Book by contacting Jānis Mikans at the Cremon winery.
Hotels in Sigulda, Latvia
Use the map below to find and book hotels in Sigulda, Latvia:
Books about Latvia
Interested in visiting Latvia? You can buy the following books from Amazon:
Insight Guides’ Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania guidebook.
Lonely Planet’s Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania guidebook.
Captivating History’s History of Latvia.
Baltic: The Future of Europe by Oliver Moody.
Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena.
Useful travel information
Krimulda Manor is now a rehabilitation centre near the town of Sigulda.
Sigulda Tourism‘s website has information about things to do in Sigulda and the surrounding region. With three castles and a bobsleigh and skeleton track, Sigulda has lots to offer people who appreciate history and winter sports.
Gauja National Park is accessible from Sigulda. The multifaceted landscape is biodiverse and offers an array of adventure activities.
Further details
Thank you for visiting this post about visiting Krimulda Manor and tasting Cremon fruit wine in Sigulda, Latvia. Here’s a post about things to do in Riga, Latvia.
Stuart Forster, the author of this post, is an award-winning travel writer. He has visited Latvia multiple times, writing about his experiences for publications including Selling Travel and Trip Reporter.
Photos illustrating this post are by Why Eye Photography.
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A version of this post was initially published on Go Eat Do on 4 December 2017.
Katie
December 14, 2017 at 14:48This sounds wonderful! I do enjoy the wines of Eastern Europe, but I’ve not yet tried Latvian fruit wines. They sound delicious – and dandelions are supposed to be really good for you, too.
Stuart Forster
December 14, 2017 at 15:17My favourite drinks at Cremon proved to be the liqueurs. I bought a bottle of the raspberry liqueur with a view to mixing a variation on the bramble cocktail.
Michael
May 18, 2020 at 18:19There is always more to learn. Fruitwine from Latvia, very nice. That Dandelionwine sounds interesting. I’m more on the fruity side but blossoms like Elderflower can make aromatic countrywines too
Go Eat Do
May 23, 2020 at 13:48Elderflower is such a versatile ingredient. I hope it will soon be safe enough for people to Latvia to and try Cremon produce where it is made. I wish you a successful season.