Berry delights of the Wine Cellar

The redbrick building by the car park at Arboretum Mustila has functioned as a dairy, workshop and storehouse for scrap, but nowadays it’s a wonderful place for wine tasting.

The selection in the Wine Cellar comprises 16 berry wines and seven liqueurs by Mustila Wine. In addition to berry liqueurs, there are also liqueurs made from sap and flowering winds.

The drinks of Mustila Wine are made from pure Finnish ingredients. Half of these ingredients come from local contracted farmers and the rest from domestic gardens and nature. Cloudberry, on the other hand, sometimes has to be bought from further away than Kouvola.

Tasting with the director

Wine tasting is often attended by groups that first want a tour of the wine cellar, either the long or short version. Then each member may taste a wine or liqueur of their choice, or maybe even a few of them.

A glass costs €4 and three can be tasted for €10. A teeny-weeny glass costs €2.50. Self-appointed ‘director’ of Mustila Wine, Maria Tigerstedt, organises the tastings and presents the facilities.

Individual visitors do not need to make an advance booking. Just step into the cellar for a tasting. And of course there are also alcohol-free berry drinks for tasting, such as raspberry lemonade.

And if there’s any talk of other berry products, you might drift over to an old red wine barrel serving as a table with a platter full of delights to be tasted, such as Mustila Wine jams, jellies, mustards, pickled gherkins and marinated garlic, otherwise known as Mustan everstin kynnet (Black Colonel’s fingernails).

Koppelo and Karvajalka

Perhaps the favourite wine is Mustan everstin kosto (Black Colonel’s Revenge), named after the ghost haunting Mustila Manor, a hearty and sweetish party and dessert wine.

The second favourite of tasters is the medium sweet Koppelon kujerrus (Wood Grouse’s Cooing) seasoned with black- and redcurrants and blueberries, but with a dominant flavour of cranberry. This year, both of these tasted success in the Finnish farm wines competition, as did the forest raspberry liqueur.

In summer, Karvajalka (Hairy Foot) also sells well, a medium dry wine fortified with gooseberries and coloured with strawberries. It is very suitable as an accompaniment to smoked salmon.

All the food and beverages prepared at Mustila Wine are made according to recipes of the director’s grandmothers and only with natural ingredients. The only product with added colour is the mint jelly, as completely organic mint jelly would be grey.