"Love and Rosé"
If there is anything the Tipsy Gypsies like more than traveling, it's traveling to a wedding of their best friends. This summer we were invited to attend the wedding of our close friends from San Francisco, Liz and Felix in a beautiful vineyard in Arild, Sweden. Here is the story.
We arrived to Arild Winery on a rainy Friday afternoon. The place was quiet and enchanting. The countryside and the rustic buildings covered with thatched roofs and white stucco walls made us feel like we had just stepped into a medieval village. We were the first wedding guests to check in at the small reception. Not wanting to waste any time, we ordered some Rosé wine to warm up our cold bones.
As the first sip of sweet wine hit our lips, we leaned back, closed our eyes, and inhaled a deep breath of that authentic, wine country air. And we don't mean any of that pretentious, snobby, The Real Housewives of Sonoma air; we mean REAL wine country air. A delicate and sophisticated mix of rich fertile soil... and manure. We loved it because it was earthly and you could literally feel the elements coming together to produce this wonderful wine.
The Town
Arild is a small costal town and it's a favorite spot for Swedes to vacation. One sunny afternoon, we took a walk through the small windy roads of Arild. We could tell that the locals are very proud of their town. Although every cottage is probably a century old, it has been restored and is freshly painted. Each house is unique and they all have the most amazing, green and lavish gardens.
Very quickly we realized why people love to come here for vacation or choose to live here. The cool breezy air, delicious food, the hospitality and the views are just a few reasons why we fell in love with this place. Check out the views of the town below.
There are lots of fun activities in Arild besides walking and wine tasting. Arild is a small town but it has a lot to offer for the tourists who want to stay active. You can do horseback riding, rent bikes and hike. Down at the harbor they offer scuba diving classes, you can rent kayaks and even do some fishing.
THE WINERY -"Arild Vingård" and the property
You might actually be surprised to hear that there is a vineyard in Sweden because wine is not something that Swedish people are typically known for, but as it turns out, it is actually quite delicious. In fact, the Arild Vingård produces somewhere around 60%-80% of the wine for the whole country. They make a dry white and Rosé wine, schnapps and a dessert wine, which we all tried at the wedding. You can also purchase some imported red wine from Italy. Having said that, Sweden has very strict drinking laws. Alcohol must typically be purchased from authorized government stores. That means that if you buy a bottle at the winery, you have to drink it while you are there. If you want to take it with you, the bottle better be empty.
In our opinion, the restaurant at Arild Vingård has the best food in town. The meals are reasonably priced and they can accommodate all dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten free, you name it!). And don't skip on the dessert: chocolate cake with Italian style gelato or a scoop of sorbet ( for the vegans). Lastly, their delicious espresso is a perfect pairing with the dessert.... or maybe another glass of wine.
We checked out some other restaurants in town, but they were all a bit out of our price range and they seemed a bit too fancy for us. Plus, for the vegan "gypsy queen" the options were none. However, if money is not an issue for you, the town has two gorgeous restaurants and I am sure the food is amazing.
The Wedding
We have been to many weddings in our life, but we have never experienced a wedding so laid back and fun like the one of our friends Liz and Felix. First of all, the wedding venue did't feel commercial at all. In fact, you could hear the cows mooing in the nearby pastures. There were no bullshit mandatory schedules or fake introductions and the food was spectacular. If you like the concept of "farm to table", this place has it down!
This was a really special event to us because you don't hear that often about two awkwardly awesome kids who fall in love in high school and stick together. We met this goofy couple years ago in an art school in San Francisco. They were much younger than us, but for some reason they didn't mind hanging out with these two older gypsies.
We like Liz because she hosts the most awesome house parties and you can always count on Felix to drink one more beer with you. They are both very social people and their friends are like a family to them.
This was the most international wedding that we had ever attended. There were guests from Sweden, Germany, Norway, Australia, Italy, America, Canada, Mexico, England and Poland. It says a lot about the bride and groom that so many people were willing to travel so far to celebrate with them.
The most memorable and moving part was listening to the many, many speeches durning the wedding. Apparently, Swedish weddings are known for an abundance of speeches. One thing that we learned about the Swedes and this family in particular, is that they are extremely sarcastic and funny. And so were their speeches.
A lot of us stayed at the vineyard and after the wedding, a smaller group of us continued the celebration in Barcelona ( we will write about that soon).
The evening was filled with great food, drinks and dancing. We can't remember exactly when we left the venue but we are guessing it was around 1am. But that wasn't it. The party continued in the guest rooms and didn't finish until we heard the farmers feeding the cows their breakfast in the morning. You know that you partied hard when the owner of the winery tells you that she'd never had a wedding where the guest drank so much and were still standing. We actually weren't that surprised...
If you go to Sweden make sure you stop at Arild. You can stay at the Arild Vingård bed and breakfast. You are guaranteed to have great time staying at this magical place. The surroundings are breath taking and place is very peaceful.
Contact to the vinery:
