Our family lived in Tallinn. Everything seemed fine: a modern home at the edge of a pine forest, room for three children and a black Labrador, a rose bed in the garden and good neighbours all around. Life was comfortable and safe.
And yet something else began to stir. A feeling that every day passed to someone else’s beat — working for a salary, not with the heart. A wish to build something truly our own, to be our own masters and to live a life that felt genuinely ours.
For some time we had been making berry wine at home — not merely as a hobby, but out of curiosity. And at some point we noticed that it was praised not only by friends but also by the strict judges of a home-wine competition. Our rowan and raspberry wines came a prize-winning second in a tight field. It was a sign: we were on the right track.
Then something happened that changed everything. An empty manor house crossed our path — a 160-year-old Pärnu county mansion with a historic park, surrounded by hectares of farmland.
Allikukivi manor was built in 1878 as the summer residence of a cloth manufacturer and is surrounded by a historic landscape park laid out in the free style. The grand house and its picturesque park were created in the 1860s by the German-born engineer K. F. Zoepffel, whose family used it only for a few summer months each year. The building is a historicist brick house with neo-Gothic features.
From the first day it was clear: this place had to be brought back to life. And precisely as a winery — with an Estonian twist, where the wine is born right here from the harvest of our own berry garden.
To make the dream come true, there was a lot to learn. We went back to school — and did it thoroughly. Horticulture and landscaping at Räpina School of Horticulture, a berry-wine course in Finland, arborist training at Pärnu Vocational Education Centre and a course at the Estonian Sommelier School. On top of that, dozens of training days on entrepreneurship, marketing and green management.
We have taken on an experiment: can a modern manor be run on the same principles as a historic one, where agricultural production was typically the core activity?
In 2016 we opened our home to guests. Winery life began in full swing — tours, tastings, events. We brought the whole family into the family business. This year our youngest daughter turned 18, so she too can now stand behind the wine counter. We are also helped by volunteers who have become dear to us, without whom much would not be possible.
According to the Estonian Environmental Board, the roughly six-hectare park has both nature-conservation and historical value — it provides a habitat for rare animals, birds and plants and is a link to cultural history.
Today Allikukivi Winery is a growing, living business in Pärnu county. Our berry and fruit wines are made on site, in the manor’s wine cellar. We pick the berries mainly in our own berry garden; the rest we source from trusted farmers nearby. Visitors can enjoy wine tours, tastings and events, and in summer glamping in the historic manor park.
A visit to our winery has also been recognised with the EHE (Genuine and Interesting Estonia) ecotourism quality label.
We are grateful to everyone who has accompanied us on this road — guests, friends, volunteers and family members. Your visits and feedback give us the strength to keep going.
Allikukivi Winery is open from May to December, Wednesday to Sunday from 11 to 18. Come for a wine tour, book a glamping night or simply drop into the manor shop.
+372 525 2800 · info@allikukivi.ee
Allikukivi Winery — Kooli tee 2, Allikukivi, Pärnu county