The parliamentary Republic of Finland (Suomi in Finnish) in Northern Europe with its capital Helsinki covers 338,472 km² and borders Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic Sea. The 1,580 km² archipelago of Åland on the south-western tip has extensive autonomous status. Finland is known as the "land of 1,000 lakes". Around 56,000 of the almost 190,000 lakes (larger than 5 ares) are at least one hectare in size.

There is a small amount of viticulture in the south of the country and on the Åland Islands. The frost-hardy new varieties Rondo, Solaris and Zilga, which are suitable for the Finnish climate, are cultivated on around 50 hectares. Traditionally, however, wine-like drinks are made primarily from apples and berries. The national drink of Finland is "Salmiakki Koskenkorva" (Salmiakki), a salty-sweet liqueur made from vodka and salmiak (liquorice).
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