Ainoa Winery has been named the Nordic Food Artisan of 2019 at the Embla Awards

01.06.2019 Reykjavik, Iceland

At the most prestigious food competition in the Nordics, Ainoa Winery of Finland was chosen over the finalists from Iceland, Åland, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Norway and Denmark to be named Nordic Food Artisan of the Year 2019.

Facing a highly skilled group of competitors with impressive backgrounds, Ainoa managed to impress the judges with what they had achieved and came out victorious.  But it wasn’t just the judges that were impressed.  Winemaker David Cohen noted that quite a few people from all over the Nordics approached him to ask how they could become winemakers.  It is clear that Ainoa has tapped into a previously unrecognized need: high quality wines made not with grapes, but with Nordic raw materials that could be paired with Nordic foods to create a pure northern taste experience.

Both David and co-founder Paola Guerrero de Cohen were humbled to be chosen to represent Finland for such an important event, are proud they were to be able to bring home the trophy for their adopted country and are grateful to have participated in such an uplifting celebration of Nordic cuisine.  But best of all, it is knowing that forest wines, their contribution to the food culture of the north have been recognized as belonging on the table with the finest foods of the Nordics.

About the Embla Nordic Food Awards

The Embla awards were created by the Nordic Council of Ministers and is administered by the combined agricultural organizations of the Nordic countries.  The purpose is to bring attention both within the Nordics and internationally to Nordic food culture and the innovative people behind it.  The awards were first held in 2017 and happen every other year.  This year 48 finalists from Iceland, Finland, Åland, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Norway and Denmark competed for the win in seven categories.  The winners for 2019 were:

• Nordic Food Producer 2019: Grøna Oyggin, Faroe Islands

  (Finnish candidate: Hauhalan Hanhifarm, Virpi and Antti Rantalainen)

• Nordic Food Entrepreneur 2019: Bondens Skafferi, Sweden

  (Finnish candidate: Silmusalaatti, Samuli Laurikainen)

• Nordic Food Artisan 2019: Ainoa Winery, Finland

  (Finnish candidate: Ainoa Winery, Paola Guerrero de Cohen and David Cohen)

• Nordic Food Communicator 2019: Claus Meyer, Denmark

  (Finnish candidate: Satokausikalenteri, Natalia Salmela and Samuli Karjula)

• Nordic Food for Many 2019: Anne-Birgette Agger, Denmark

  (Finnish candidate: Koulutuskeskus Salpaus, Anita Kauhala-Antonopoulou and Marko Viljamaa)

• Nordic Food Destination 2019: Gimburlombini – Nólsoy, Faroe Islands

  (Finnish candidate: Slow Food Festival Fiskars, Diana Nyberg Lindholm)

• Nordic Food for Children and Youth 2019: Hävikki-battle, Motiva Oy, Finland

  (Finnish candidate: Hävikki-battle, Motiva Oy, Elina Ovaskainen)

The Finnish organizers for the competition were MTK and SLC.  More information about the competition can be found on the Embla Nordic Food Awards web site. Results first reported in Maaseudun Tulevaisuus.