Visit the best wineries in Estonia

Estonia might not have the renown of Italy or Spain when it comes to winemaking, but it does have a surprising number of wineries dotting the countryside. A trip around the country gives you an opportunity to taste wine made from local Estonian fruits, berries, and forest products—try the birch sap bubbly! Given Estonia's compact size, it's easy to add a stop at a winery along the way to wherever you're headed.

The ancient roots of Estonian wine

Estonians started making fruit and berry wines as early as the Middle Ages, but the official berry wineries opened in the 1920s. The resulting traditions were passed down from generation to generation, and it was not a rare sight to see wines squeezed into large glass bottles in the corners of homes during the Soviet era. Since the craft revolution of the 2010s, new makers have started making wines from everything nature has to offer. The most common bases include dandelion, rhubarb, primrose, rowan, blackcurrant, and local grape varieties. This leads to sweeter flavors than grape-based wine. As a result, Estonia has an extensive selection of dessert wines.

Follow the Estonian wine route or create your own

Visits to family-run, small-scale wineries help support local economies and organic agriculture, making them ideal green travel destinations. You can spend an entire trip to Estonia travelling around the country and drinking wine on the official Estonian wine trail or stop by a winery on the way to your final destination! The wineries mentioned below will help you get acquainted with Estonian wine production. 

Central, north, and east wineries

Põltsamaa is a small historic town located right in the middle of Estonia. Wine production started here in 1921 and became an instant hit nationwide. Today, you can only sample Põltsamaa wines at Põltsamaa wine cellar. 

Estonia's northernmost fruit and berry wine farm is Valgejõe Veinivilla Orchard. The Aru Manor winery also makes tea in addition to its homemade wine. From there, you can try the unique chokeberry wine at Habaja Distillery.

The Ulge Farm near Lake Peipus has grown different berry crops for decades and is known for its bold flavours, from birch sap bubbly to pumpkin wine. The Hirveaia wine cellar produces craft wines from local ingredients such as rhubarb, wild berries, apples, and local grapes. Their location next to Alatskivi Castle makes it a perfect stop for history buffs.

The Järiste winery operates in the historic Luke Manor Tavern and is known for unique and personal vintages. Järiste's red wine Regent from the 2018 vintage won 1st place in the category of dry red wines at the Baltic Cup Award 2021, with Regent from the 2016 vintage also having taken first place in the absolute classification of grape wines and the category of red wines at the Baltic Cup Award 2017.

South, west, and island wineries

Not too far from them is the Kanarbiku Wine Farm, producing fruit and berry wines from the best local source materials. And you can also visit the largest organic indoor farmyard in Estonia, Veinimäe Farm, when you are in the neighborhood. Tori Cider and Wine Farm offers wine tours and tastings and only uses organic ingredients to make wines, ciders and soft drinks. In the beautiful Pootsi Winery in Pärnu County, delicious homemade wines are made from domestic berries. They combine tastings with information on the historical Pootsi manor. Saaremaa I Winery makes wines from just about anything, including nettle, tomato, and carrot wines, as well as many other exciting flavours from Estonian raw ingredients.

Allikukivi Winery is best known for its rhubarb wine. The award-winning estate offers wines made from blackcurrant, apple, raspberry, rowan and chokeberry and welcomes visitors to explore the winemaking process. Mamm & Frukt, on the other hand, is a trendy new wine producer ready to take the market with its bubbly variety of fruit wines.

In the deep south near Võru, you'll find Uue-Saaluse vineyard. They produce a speciality buckthorn wine while trying to adhere to the zero-waste principle: they make handmade gin from winemaking by-products. 

Muhu Farm Winery has been making waves for years. The project was started in 2012 by planting the first 100 vines. Located on the tiny, rustic island of Muhu, the vineyard serves freshly prepared meals and heats a mean sauna to finish the wine-tasting session. Known also as Luscher & Matiesen Muhu Winehouse, it carries the legend of what used to be the biggest winery in Estonia back in the 1930s.  Murimäe vine cellar offers wine-tasting tours of its locally produced Estonian grape wine. Their Muri d'Or Solaris sparkling wine from the vintage of 2020 won 1st place in the category of sparkling wines made from traditional grapes at the Baltic Cup Awards 2021.

Pindi Veinitalu is a small winery with unique berry and fruit wines from South Estonian forest products and local raw ingredients. Pindi Veinitalu's apple wine from the 2020 vintage won 1st place in the category of sweet berry wines at the Baltic Cup Awards 2021 with their apple wine from 2020 also winning 1st place in the whole berry wine category.

The newest winery to add to the route is Rüüp, located in South Estonia, close to the Murimäe and Pindi wineries mentioned above. Mentioned as part of one of the best new European trips for ethical and greener travel by The Guardian, Rüüp offers tours and onsite accommodation with a sauna and hot tub.

Travel slow and savor Estonia's rural charm

The Estonian Wine Trail explores this lesser-known side of Estonian food culture. This experience brings visitors out of the cities and into the heart of the Estonian countryside, covering the whole of Estonia and showcasing the country's stunning landscape and rural elements that most visitors don't get to see. If you are only visiting Estonia for a short time but would still love to try as many wines as possible, we recommend visiting the Estonian Wine Chamber at Hindreku Farm. The chamber offers various wines from different farms and manors for you to try and buy.