Valamon Viiniherman Oy (transl. Valamon Wine Herman) is a distillery located in Finland that produces whisky and church wine. The company, founded in 1997, is owned by the Valamo Monastery.[1]
 | |
| Headquarters | |
|---|---|
| Products | Wine, whisky |
| Owner | Valamo Monastery |
History
editThe company was founded by the Valamo Monastery and a winery called Hermannin viinitila ("Hermann's Wine Estate") from Ilomantsi. The latter is the oldest wine estate in Finland, having been founded in 1989.[2]
Valamon Viiniherman Oy was created by Father Andreas of the monastery.[3]
In 2014, Valamon Viiniherman Oy launched the production of whisky, investing 1,2 million euros in the new venture destined to become the company's main stream of revenue. The first batch were planned for 2018. The distillery needed in the project forms a company of its own, and the majority of the shares is owned by the monastery. The person responsible for the production of alcoholic beverages in the monastery is Timo Kettunen.[4]
In 2018, the winery lost its licence to sell its Church wine. Valamon provided 30% of the country's Church wine and had dropped the alcohol content of its wine below 15% for cheaper tax purposes. After losing its licence, the winery could not sell to parishes directly anymore, having to go through Alko for all sales, even when Valamon wanted to buy its own wine.[5]
By 2019, the monastery was producing almost 50,000 liters of whisky and selling The Valamon Monastry Peated Single Malt in Alko stores.[6]
Activities
editThe company produces wines, liqueurs and whisky. Valamon owns half of Valamon Viiniherman Oy. It made €60 000 in profits in 2012.[3] The whisky is sometimes aged in barrels used for Church wine, giving the liquid a distinct darker tone.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Valamon Viiniherman Oy — details of enterprise". Finnish Trade Register. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ "Pannussa porisee viskimallas ("Whisky malt boiling in the pot")". www.joensuuregion.fi. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ a b Juhani Saarinen (17 Aug 2013). "Valamo elää yli varojensa ("Valamo is living beyond its means")". Helsingin Sanomat. Sanoma. pp. B 6–7.
- ^ Verna Vuoripuro (2 July 2014). "Valamon luostarissa aletaan valmistaa viskiä ("Whisky will be produced in the Valamo Monastery")". Helsingin Sanomat. Sanoma. p. A 12.
- ^ Lehtiniemi, Keimo (2018-03-19). "Valamo menetti kirkkoviinien myyntiluvan – jopa luostari itse joutuu tilaamaan tuotettaan Alkosta". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ a b Marjamäki, Tuomas (2019-10-30). "Heinäveden Uudessa Valamossa valmistetaan luostariviskiä". Apu.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-11-27.
External links
edit- "Official website". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
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