How Sweden’s gender-equal divorce law can leave women worse off
Article from The Local – Sweden’s news in English
Author: Sarah Jefford
Is Sweden a good country for women? Debunking a myth and why I can’t afford to buy wine anymore
This month I celebrate eight years of living in Sweden. Celebrate, however, is not really the adequate word. In 2014 I left London very abruptly with my son in the middle of a school year as my husband, out of the blue, was offered a job in Stockholm he said he couldn’t turn down. He promised us a wonderful new life and told us that Sweden was the ideal country for raising a family. Although it didn’t fit with my job situation at the time – I was working in a winery in Bordeaux and the family plans had been to live somewhere where both of us could work – I was excited. I saw it as an adventure and was looking forward to discovering a new culture, beautiful landscape and the northern lights. It was not supposed to be forever either. We had met in Switzerland, lived in London and were, so I thought, internationals. Unfortunately things did not turn out to plan. My husband focused all his attention on his important job and …
Which Wine for Oysters?
Which wine for oysters?
In the hands of the chefs at Sushi Sho
I finally made it to Sushi Sho. Sushi Sho has been for some years now on my “must-go-and-eat-there-before-I-die” list or, if that sounds rather unnecessarily tragic, on the “must-go-and-eat-there-before-it-closes-down” list. I say that because I never made it to Fäviken to partake in Magnus Nilsson’s edible artistry before it closed. That is one of my big regrets. Back to Sushi Sho. I was commissioned recently to write an article on sake, so I seized the occasion to venture down to this much talked-about restaurant whose traditional Tokyo-style sushi have been making waves in Stockholm since its launch in 2014. I threw to the wind the idea that feasting in a one Michelin star warrants either a celebration, or diners-in-crime, or the end of the week, and rocked up on my own, casually, on a very cold Tuesday night. The restaurant is located in Vasastan, right opposite Bacchus Antik, an antique shop I used to love spending time in when visiting Stockholm, in the days before I settled here. The shop is crammed full of Scandinavian …
Is Corona helping restaurants remember the basics?
The sun is finally out and when that happens Sweden morphs into a different country. Suddenly the streets, parks and gardens are filled with people whose existence one did not even realise during the dark winter months. Smiles, laughter and babble become welcome accompaniments to daily life. Although there is no confinement here, most citizens are respecting social distancing. Restaurants are open but are having a tough time with many of them going under due to lack of customers. With the arrival of the warm weather, however, restaurant terraces are enticing trade. I myself have been adhering to working from home and restricting my movements to shopping for essentials and walks in nature. One sunny day, when a friend recently suggested coffee, it was with some unease that I agreed to meet on a terrace. With Corona on my mind, I sat at a distance from my friend. We ordered some coffee and water but were rather taken aback when the waitress pinched the lip of the water glasses with her index and thumb and …
Wine’s fall from grace
Summer is over. It is back to a new school year, a new start and work. The days have become noticeably shorter and once the sun has disappeared over the horizon the evening air is gently chilling. Daytime, however, is still mostly bright and warm, carrying with it the echoes of holiday enjoyment and carefreeness. “Sensommar”, late summer. The streets of Stockholm are bustling once again with local inhabitants back from time off. The wine trade is in full swing again, presenting the season’s new products and trends. Restaurant terraces are full of happy diners sipping on transitional rosé. Summer is the period of the year when alcohol consumption is at its highest in Sweden. This would point to a rather responsible society that mainly consumes alcohol during leisure time and vacation as opposed to during the working week. On the other hand, this could also translate as overcompensation for not spreading drinking evenly out over the working weeks resulting in excessive drinking over the summer months. Drinking in large amounts over a short period, …
Freedom wine for France
It was no surprise. The country whose motto is Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité wanted out of its shackles. Too many rules and regulations, no wiggle room, not enough space for creativity. Winemakers in France had had enough. They had been dreaming of possibilities that they couldn’t realise. They requested carte blanche. And they got it. They got it in the form of VDF. Vin de France. They nickname it the Freedom Appellation. France is one of the five most important wine producing countries in the world. Along with Spain, China, Italy and Turkey it holds 50% of the world’s total vineyard area (including vineyards for the production of juice, table grapes, raisins as well as wine). France’s share is 11%, Spain’s 13%, China’s 11%, Italy’s 9% and Turkey’s 6% (OIV, April 2017). As far as wine is concerned, France produced last year 43.5 million hectolitres which is less than Italy (50.9 mio hl) but more than Spain (39.3 mio hl), the USA (23.9 mio hl) and Australia (13 mio hl). France does well on the export side. …
Travelling with wine
Upon arrival at Stockholm airport, I received an sms from Air France informing me that they were “tracking my suitcase”. I had just come back from a trip to Chile and my suitcase appeared to have missed the Paris-to-Stockholm leg of the journey. I wasn’t unduly concerned, clothes are replaceable – and in this instance Air France would probably be doing me a favour if they were to be lost forever – but in my suitcase I did have six bottles of rather good Chilean wine that I was looking forward to consume. The following day my luggage made it back to Sweden and a courier service obligingly delivered it to my door. Somewhat unsettlingly, though, it came wrapped in a huge thick transparent sack. I removed the plastic – it was reassuringly dry inside – and next unzipped the case. All my clothes were their original colour, no red streaks anywhere, but there was a distinct perfume pervading the air. I initially thought a cosmetic bottle might have leaked until the smell started to make sense. Lees, apples…It was Chardonnay. Whenever I travel …
It’s all pink!
The temperature in Stockholm has been below zero for a number of weeks now but there has been a change in the skies which have gone from grey and gloomy to include some rays of sunshine and moments of blue sky. Warm weather and spring are still a way off but clearly they are on people’s mind, and the newspapers last week-end have been surprisingly full of advertisements for rosé wine! On second thoughts, it probably isn’t so much the call of spring but the fact that Tuesday is Valentine’s day, a day that calls for celebration with all things pink and heart shaped. For those of you who might have forgotten this day, here is a reminder for you to go and buy that card and gift! In following with the spirit of the moment, here is a little sampler of some of the pink festive beverages that are currently available at most Systembolaget shops in Sweden. All of these are with bubbles, bar one – bubbles being synonymous with fun and festivities. (But what is it with bubbles …
Vintips – vecka 46
Det var på en tävling organiserad av Spanska Viner nyligen som jag provade Navaherreros Blanco de Bernabeleva för första gången. Ett spännande vin men inte ett som gör alltför mycket väsen av sig. Det är inte en fruktbomb eller ett aromatiskt vin. Det är snarare ett ganska subtilt vin med silkeslen kropp som bjuder in till ytterligare ett glas. Oftast tänker man mer på röda viner än på vita när man pratar om Spanien. Landet har fantastiska vita viner men kanske på grund av att de inte är alla gjorda på aromatiska druvsorter så får de inte lika mycket uppmärksamhet. […]
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