At the world's northernmost winery, winter temperatures and the strong spring sun are the wild cards

Snow, preferably a thick layer of it, is the recipe for successful winegrowing in western Finland, at what is believed to be the world's northern most winery.

Thanks to an insulating layer of snow, winter temperatures as low as minus 36 degrees C have not managed to freeze the Riesling, Merlot and Chardonnay vines of Finnish wine pioneer Kaarlo Nelimarkka, 74.