Smørrebrød and Wine: A Winegrower’s Guide to Danish Open Sandwiches
What smørrebrød is, the order Danes eat it in, and which wine to pour with herring, shrimp, roast pork and aged cheese.
- Rye bread, butter and a generous topping
- Herring first, cheese last
- Organic wines from Smålandshavet
What is smørrebrød?
By Jesper Rye Jensen, winegrower and owner of Vesterhave VingaardUpdated 2026
Smørrebrød is the Danish open sandwich: a slice of rye bread spread with butter and topped with herring, shrimp, roast pork, liver pâté or cheese. With wine, choose a fresh white or rosé for the fish and a light red for the meat. Vesterhave Vingaard in Karrebæksminde, South Zealand, makes organic wines that suit the whole lunch.
The word combines smør (butter) and brød (bread). The Danish encyclopaedia lex.dk defines smørrebrød as slices of bread with toppings, usually rye bread spread with butter, dripping or another spread.
I grow wine by the sea in South Zealand, about an hour from Copenhagen. If you have had smørrebrød for lunch in the city, you may have wondered what to drink with it. Beer and aquavit are the old answer. Wine is the newer one, and it works very well if you match it to the topping.
Where does smørrebrød come from?
Smørrebrød grew out of the Danish habit of eating rye bread with whatever was in the larder. According to lex.dk, nobody knows exactly when smørrebrød began, but the tall, generously topped version became famous in Copenhagen in the late 1800s.
| Smørrebrød history | Year or figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rye bread baked in Denmark | Probably from about the year 1000 | lex.dk |
| The first smørrebrød menu card (smørrebrødsseddel) at Nimb in Tivoli, Copenhagen | 1883 | lex.dk |
| Oskar Davidsen starts selling smørrebrød in his wine shop on Frederiksberg | 1888 | lex.dk |
| Length of the Davidsen menu card | 140 cm, up to 170 kinds | lex.dk |
| Adam Aamann opens a smørrebrød shop in Østerbro, Copenhagen | 2006 | lex.dk |
| Michelin Bib Gourmand for Møntergade and Selma (Copenhagen) and anx (Aarhus) | 2024 | lex.dk |
Pickled herring (sild)
Herring on rye bread is so tied to aquavit that lex.dk notes it is also called snapsemad, the schnapps sandwich. It is always the first piece on the table.
Shrimp (rejemad)
Bread piled with shrimp, often with a squeeze of lemon on top. Stjerneskud, another seafood classic on the lex.dk list, belongs to the same family.
Roast pork (flæskesteg)
Cold roast pork with red cabbage is one of the toppings lex.dk lists, together with rullepølse, a Danish rolled and spiced pork.
Liver pâté (leverpostej)
Leverpostej with bacon and mushrooms is on the lex.dk list of classic toppings, and it is a good test for your red wine.
Tatar and pariserbøf
Raw beef tartare and pariserbøf, a lightly fried beef patty on bread, are the heavier meat classics on a smørrebrød menu.
Aged cheese (gammel ost)
A strong Danish cheese aged for about 1.5 to 2 years, according to lex.dk. Cheese is always served last.
Which wine goes with smørrebrød?
Smørrebrød goes best with fresh wines that have good acidity and a little fruit. Systembolaget, the Swedish state wine retailer, says the dominant tastes on a Scandinavian sandwich table are acidity, saltiness and sweetness, so fresh white wines with a little sweetness work better than bone dry ones.
| Topping | Wine style | From our vineyard |
|---|---|---|
| Pickled herring | White with a little sweetness, or a dry Pinot Gris. Traditionally beer and aquavit | Hvid Lagune |
| Shrimp and other seafood | Light, fresh white, young rosé or a slim sparkling wine | Rosa Lagune or Orange Lagune |
| Salmon | Fresh white or rosé, or a light red served cool | Orange Lagune or Grøn Lagune |
| Liver pâté with bacon | Light red with fresh acidity, served cool | Grøn Lagune |
| Roast pork with red cabbage | Fresh red with fruit, or a full white | Rød Lagune 1 or Hvid Lagune |
| Tatar and roast beef | Elegant red with soft tannins | Rød Lagune 1 |
| Aged cheese | Sweet, fortified wine | Hed Lagune |
The wine styles for herring and shrimp are based on Vinmonopolet (herring) and Vinmonopolet (shrimp), the Norwegian state wine retailer. The meat and cheese rows and the last column are my own recommendations as the winegrower.
What wine goes with pickled herring?
Pickled herring goes best with a white wine that has a little sweetness. Niclas Lundmark of Vinmonopolet calls sweetness the big challenge with pickled herring: it strips the wine of fruit and can make it taste thin and sour. Some residual sugar in the wine helps.
Vinmonopolet suggests German Riesling with a touch of sweetness, Chenin Blanc such as a Vouvray demi sec, and dry Pinot Gris from Alsace or dry Riesling. The page also notes that beer and aquavit are the traditional Scandinavian drinks with herring, and that a malty lager works because the malt sweetness suits salty, sweet fish.
From our vineyard, I pour Hvid Lagune 2025 with herring. It is a full, dry white made from Solaris and Pinot Gris, with notes of pepper and smoke and a creamy texture, and Falstaff awarded it gold with 90 to 92 points. Because it is dry, it suits herring in a mild marinade or with curry better than the sweetest pickles. Read more about the grape in our Solaris grape guide.
What wine goes with shrimp and fish smørrebrød?
Shrimp and fish smørrebrød need a light, fresh wine that does not drown the delicate seafood. Anne Enggrav of Vinmonopolet writes that shrimp is wine friendly food, but the taste is delicate and easy to overpower, so the drink should be fresh in the same way as the lemon you squeeze over a shrimp sandwich.
Vinmonopolet recommends whites with light to medium body and good freshness, dry or with a little sweetness, such as Chablis, Muscadet or German and Austrian Riesling. A young, fresh and fruity rosé works too, and so does a slim, fresh sparkling wine.
Our Rosa Lagune 2025 is a fresh rosé with notes of cherry, mint and honey and 11 % alcohol, and Falstaff gave it silver with 89 to 91 points. For salmon and stjerneskud I like Orange Lagune 2024, a dry and fresh orange wine from Solaris and Pinot Gris with elderflower, lemon and red gooseberry. Its product notes recommend it with fish, salmon and seafood. Serve both at 8 to 10 °C.
Can you drink red wine with smørrebrød?
Yes, red wine works well with the meat toppings on smørrebrød, as long as it is light and fresh. Liver pâté, roast pork and roast beef are rich, but they sit on thin rye bread with pickles and red cabbage, so a heavy, oaky red tends to take over. These are my own picks from our cellar.
Grøn Lagune 2025
Grøn Lagune is a light Rondo wine halfway between rosé and red, with strawberry, raspberry and blackberry and 11.5 % alcohol. The product notes say you can drink it cool at about 10 °C or at about 18 °C. Cool, it is my pick for leverpostej with bacon and for salmon.
Rød Lagune 1
Rød Lagune 1 is a dry, fruity Rondo red in the style of Pinot Noir, with blackcurrant, blackberry, pepper and strawberry. It is one of our lightest reds, and I pour it with roast pork, roast beef and tatar. For more on roast pork and wine, see our guide to Danish Christmas food and wine.
Hed Lagune 2019
Hed Lagune is our organic dessert wine in the style of a ruby port, made from Rondo grapes dried for 10 days, with 40 g of residual sugar. Falstaff scored it 93 points. The product notes recommend it with cheese, so it is my choice for gammel ost at the end.
What do Danes drink with smørrebrød?
Danes traditionally drink beer and aquavit (snaps) with smørrebrød, and wine has become more common in recent years. According to lex.dk, a big smørrebrød lunch is often enjoyed with beer and spiced snaps, while wine is now a more usual choice than it used to be.
The classic Danish lunch
Vinmonopolet recommends aquavit that focuses on spices rather than oak with herring, for example a light aquavit with dill and caraway. Systembolaget suggests a pale lager or a Dortmunder or Helles style beer for the sandwich table, and a fresh wheat beer or a tart beer with salmon and shellfish.
The modern lunch
Systembolaget notes that bubbles lift the food and reduce the sense of fat and salt, and that a fruity rosé with some sweetness and high acidity also suits the table. If you serve one wine for the whole lunch, a fresh rosé is the safest choice. For guests who skip alcohol, Systembolaget points to alcohol free white or sparkling wine.
In what order do you eat smørrebrød?
You eat smørrebrød in a fixed order: fish and shellfish first, with herring before the other fish, then vegetables, poultry, meat or charcuterie, and cheese always last. That order comes from lex.dk. It also makes the wine easy, because you move from light to full. Here is how I plan the bottles for a smørrebrød lunch at home.
Start with herring
Pour a cold aquavit, a lager or a white with a little sweetness for the herring. It is the saltiest and sweetest piece.
Move to shrimp and fish
Switch to a fresh, light white or a young rosé for shrimp, salmon and other seafood.
Keep one wine in the middle
A fresh rosé can carry you from the fish to the first meat pieces if you only want to open one bottle.
Bring in a light red
For liver pâté, roast pork and roast beef, open a light, fresh red and serve it a little cool.
Finish with cheese
Serve the aged cheese last with a small glass of something sweet, such as a port style wine.
Count the glasses
With 12 cl per glass, a 50 cl bottle gives about 4 glasses. Most of our bottles are 50 cl, so plan one bottle per style for 4 guests.
Does Danish wine go with smørrebrød?
Yes. Our own wines are fresh with firm acidity, which is what smørrebrød needs, and Danish wine is a growing category. According to Statistics Denmark (2024), 146 businesses grew wine grapes in 2022, up from 71 in 2016, and sales of Danish wine reached DKK 34 million in 2023.
| Our wine | Style | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hvid Lagune 2025 | Full, dry white, Solaris and Pinot Gris. Falstaff 90 to 92 | DKK 300, 50 cl |
| Rosa Lagune 2025 | Fresh rosé, cherry, mint, honey. Falstaff 89 to 91 | DKK 300, 50 cl |
| Orange Lagune 2024 | Dry, fresh orange wine, elderflower, lemon | DKK 300, 50 cl |
| Grøn Lagune 2025 | Light red between rosé and red, serve cool | DKK 300, 50 cl |
| Rød Lagune 1 | Dry, elegant Rondo red in a Pinot Noir style | DKK 300, 50 cl |
| Hed Lagune 2019 | Ruby port style dessert wine. Falstaff 93 | DKK 300, 37.5 cl |
Prices from our webshop on 1 November 2026, including Danish VAT. Check the shop for current prices and stock.
Our vines grow right by Smålandshavet in South Zealand, where the sea protects them against night frost and gives the grapes a long ripening season. We are Denmark’s largest organic vineyard, and we pick every grape by hand.
At the vineyard you can taste the wines where they grow. Tastings and tours run from spring until late autumn, and a tapas platter with local specialities, cheese and homemade bread can be added. Read more on our page about wine tasting near Copenhagen, plan the trip with our day trips from Copenhagen, or start with the Danish wine guide.
Lunch and wine by Smålandshavet
Frequently asked questions about smørrebrød and wine
What is smørrebrød?
Smørrebrød is the Danish open sandwich. The Danish encyclopaedia lex.dk defines it as slices of bread with toppings, usually rye bread spread with butter or dripping. Classic toppings are pickled herring, shrimp, roast pork with red cabbage, liver pâté with bacon and mushrooms, beef tartare and aged cheese.
What wine goes with smørrebrød?
Choose fresh wines with good acidity. Systembolaget says the sandwich table is dominated by acidity, saltiness and sweetness, so fresh whites with a little sweetness work better than bone dry wines. A fresh rosé or a slim sparkling wine suits the fish, and a light red served cool suits liver pâté and roast pork.
What do Danes drink with smørrebrød?
Traditionally beer and aquavit, also called snaps. According to lex.dk, a big smørrebrød lunch is often enjoyed with beer and spiced snaps, and in recent years it has become more common to drink wine with smørrebrød. A good plan is white wine or rosé with the fish and a light red with the meat.
What wine goes with pickled herring?
A white wine with a little sweetness. Vinmonopolet says the sweetness of pickled herring strips the wine of fruit and can make it taste thin and sour, so some residual sugar helps. It suggests off-dry Riesling, Chenin Blanc demi sec, or a dry Pinot Gris from Alsace. Beer and aquavit are the traditional choice.
In what order do you eat smørrebrød?
Fish and shellfish come first, and herring is eaten before the other fish. Then come vegetables, poultry, meat or charcuterie, and cheese is always served last, according to lex.dk. The order also helps with the wine, because you can move from light whites and rosé to red wine and finish with a sweet wine for the cheese.
Can you drink red wine with smørrebrød?
Yes, with the meat toppings. Liver pâté with bacon, roast pork with red cabbage and roast beef go well with a light, fresh red that is served a little cool. Avoid heavy, oaky reds, which tend to overpower the thin rye bread and pickles. Our own picks are Grøn Lagune and Rød Lagune 1.
Where can you try smørrebrød in Denmark?
Copenhagen has many smørrebrød restaurants. According to lex.dk, Møntergade and Selma in Copenhagen and anx in Aarhus received a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024. Smørrebrød was made famous by Nimb in Tivoli from 1883 and by Oskar Davidsen from 1888. For Danish wine to go with it, visit Vesterhave Vingaard, about an hour south of Copenhagen.
Jesper Rye Jensen
Jesper is the winegrower and owner of Vesterhave Vingaard, Vesterhavevej 204, 4736 Karrebæksminde. He grows organic wine by Smålandshavet in South Zealand, and his Blå Lagune 2019 received 96 points from Falstaff.
Sources
- lex.dk: Smørrebrød, by Katrine Klinken (updated 21 April 2026, in Danish)
- Vinmonopolet: Drikke til sild, by Niclas Lundmark (updated 6 October 2026, in Norwegian)
- Vinmonopolet: Drikke til reker, by Anne Enggrav (updated 6 October 2026, in Norwegian)
- Systembolaget: Dryck till smörgåstårta och smörgåsbord (in Swedish)
- Statistics Denmark: Danish wine production (5 July 2024, in Danish)
- Vesterhave Vingaard: Our wines and Falstaff points
Pour Danish wine with your smørrebrød
Herring, shrimp, roast pork and aged cheese deserve wine from the same country. Order organic wines from Vesterhave Vingaard by Smålandshavet, from a fresh rosé for the fish to a port style wine for the cheese.
Questions? Write or call us in English.
[email protected]+45 40 55 77 04Vesterhavevej 204, 4736 Karrebæksminde, Denmark