The Finnish government made an official emoji of a woman in her underwear drinking red wine. Welcome to the most honest drinking culture on earth.
In 2015, Finland became the first country to release official national emojis — 56 tongue-in-cheek icons explaining hard-to-translate Finnish concepts. The set that went viral included two images: a woman drinking red wine in her underwear, and a man drinking beer in his underwear. The concept they illustrate is kalsarikannit (pronounced “karl-zar-ee-can-nit”) — getting drunk at home, alone, in your underwear, with absolutely no intention of going out.
Unlike Danish hygge or Swedish lagom, kalsarikannit doesn’t demand you curate a mood. No expensive candles. No Scandi furniture. No Instagram moment. Just you, your couch, and whatever you’re drinking. The party starts and ends at home.
The fact that the government chose RED WINE — not beer, not vodka — for the emoji tells you everything about where Finland’s drinking culture has arrived. Wine is not precious here. It’s not ceremonial. It’s Tuesday night on the couch. This attitude is the engine behind Helsinki’s wine bar scene: wine is for drinking, not performing.
Quick Facts:
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Sauna tradition | 2,000+ years |
| UNESCO inscription | 2020 |
| Key venue | Löyly (EUR 27 entry) |
| The sequence | Sauna → ice swim → wine |
How Did Finland’s 2,000-Year Sauna Culture Meet Wine?
Sauna is not a wellness trend in Finland. It’s infrastructure. There are 3.3 million saunas in a country of 5.6 million people — roughly one sauna for every 1.7 humans. Apartment buildings have them. Offices have them. Parliament House has one. The word “sauna” is one of the few Finnish words that entered every language on earth unchanged.
The UNESCO inscription (2020) describes Finnish sauna culture as a practice of community, wellbeing, and “saunajuoma” — the sauna drink. Traditionally, that drink was beer. Or lonkero — the Finnish long drink (grapefruit + gin), invented for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and still the default summer drink, outselling most beers.
Wine was historically nowhere in the sauna conversation. Then Helsinki’s urban sauna boom changed the rules.
What Happened in 2016 That Changed Helsinki’s Sauna Scene?
Two things opened within months of each other in 2016: Loyly and Allas Sea Pool. Together, they transformed Helsinki’s relationship with both sauna and wine.
Loyly
Ville Hara and Anu Puustinen of Avanto Architects designed Loyly as a faceted wooden shell on the Hernesaari waterfront. Three wood-heated saunas including a traditional smoke sauna — an extreme rarity in a city. Steps lead directly into the Baltic. In winter, there’s an avanto (ice hole) for swimming. The restaurant serves wine, cocktails, and the signature Loyly Burger. The terrace faces the open sea.
Time Magazine named it one of the “World’s 100 Greatest Places” in 2018. The architects named their firm “Avanto” — the Finnish word for a hole cut in winter ice. Everything about this building is designed to blur the line between extreme cold and extreme comfort.
The sequence that put Loyly on the wine map: sauna at 80 degrees. Baltic ice swim at minus one. Climb out. Wrap in a blanket. Glass of something cold and sparkling in your hands. The sensory contrast — extreme heat, extreme cold, then wine — produces a physiological response that no tasting room, no vineyard terrace, no dimly lit bar can replicate.
It’s not a wine experience. It’s a full-body experience that happens to include wine.
- Address: Hernesaarenranta 4
- Sauna: 27 EUR / 2 hours. Swimwear rental 8 EUR. Mixed saunas (swimsuits required)
- Restaurant: Wine, cocktails, food. Not a sommelier-curated list — solid, not special. The building and the ritual are the point
- Hours: Daily, with extended hours Wed-Sat
Allas Sea Pool
If Loyly is the architectural darling, Allas is the city-centre workhorse. Right next to Market Square, overlooking Uspenski Cathedral. Five saunas, a heated 27-degree pool, and a sea water pool — year-round. Three restaurants including a rooftop bar with Helsinki’s best skyline views.
You can swim in the Baltic, sauna, then walk 200 metres to Market Square for a glass of wine at one of the harbour restaurants. It’s the most accessible entry point for the sauna-wine crossover.
- Address: Katajanokanlaituri 2a (next to Market Square)
- Saunas + pools: Year-round. Prices vary by package
Uusi Sauna and the third wave
Kimmo Helisto — nicknamed “the godfather of the Helsinki sauna boom” — runs Uusi Sauna in Jatkasaari. It’s a combination sauna, bar, and bistro seating over 100 guests. The concept: sauna is social infrastructure, not just personal hygiene. The bar is the continuation of the sauna experience, not a separate visit.
This is the pattern that Helsinki invented in the 2010s: sauna + drink + food + conversation, all in one building, all part of the same evening. The drink increasingly being wine.
How Was a World-Class Distillery Born in a Finnish Sauna?
Five friends sitting in a sauna in Isokyrö in 2012, drinking American rye whisky, asked a question: “Why doesn’t Finland distil rye? We’re surrounded by rye fields.”
They founded Kyro Distillery. Started with gin (revenue while the whisky aged — EU law requires three years minimum). Napue Rye Gin won gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2016. Kyro Malt scored 98/100 at IWSC in 2020. Won Whisky of the Year at International Spirit Awards in 2024.
Kyro isn’t wine. But the story matters. A world-class spirit was born in a sauna. The sauna-wine crossover at Loyly is the same DNA — the Finnish sauna as creative catalyst, not just relaxation. When Finns sit in extreme heat, they don’t just sweat. They think. And sometimes what they think up changes an industry.
The Kyro Sauna Bar pops up in central Helsinki because of course it does.
Is Wine in the Sauna Heresy or Innovation?
Is wine in the sauna tradition or heresy?
Both. And that’s the point.
Traditional Finns will tell you the saunajuoma is beer or lonkero, full stop. Purists consider wine in the sauna a tourist invention. They’re not entirely wrong — the pairing was commercially enabled by Loyly and Allas, not by centuries of folk practice.
But the UNESCO inscription doesn’t prescribe what the saunajuoma should be. It emphasises community and wellbeing. If the drink in your hand after the ice swim happens to be a glass of Champagne instead of a Karhu lager, the ritual is the same: extreme heat, extreme cold, then something that brings you back to yourself.
The sauna-wine pairing is a 21st-century Helsinki invention. That doesn’t make it less real. It makes it more interesting. A culture that perfected sauna over 2,000 years, then added champagne, and the world lost its mind.
What Is Kalsarikännit and Why Does It Matter for Wine?
Miska Rantanen’s 2018 book Pantsdrunk (Kalsarikanni): The Finnish Path to Relaxation positioned kalsarikannit as Finland’s answer to hygge. “A guide to inner strength and peace of mind through drinking at home in your underwear.”
The book is shelved in “Religion & Spirituality” on Amazon. That’s either a metadata error or the most Finnish joke ever committed to a database.
The timing was accidentally perfect. Published just before COVID-19 forced the entire world to stay home. Kalsarikannit went from Finnish in-joke to universal lived experience. Sales spiked in 2020.
The philosophy underneath is genuinely Finnish: don’t perform relaxation. Don’t curate it. Don’t photograph it. Just do it. Wine is not an occasion. It’s a Tuesday. The sauna is not a luxury. It’s a room. The combination is not an experience to Instagram. It’s life.
This attitude — wine as normal, not special — explains why Helsinki’s wine bars feel different from wine bars in London or Paris or New York. There’s less performance. Less curation of self. You go to Wino in Kallio and the bartender is in a T-shirt and the soundtrack is funk and the wine is outstanding and nobody is trying to prove anything to anyone. That’s kalsarikannit energy applied to a public space.
How Do You Do the Helsinki Sauna-Wine Sequence?
Option 1: Loyly (year-round, full experience) Sauna → Baltic swim → wine on the terrace. Budget 3 hours. Book the sauna slot online (loylyhelsinki.fi). Restaurant is separate — no reservation needed for terrace in summer, book for indoor dining in winter. Total: ~50-70 EUR (sauna + 2 glasses + food).
Option 2: Allas Sea Pool + Market Square (city-centre, quick) Sauna → heated pool → walk 200m to Market Square → wine at any harbour restaurant. Budget 2 hours. Total: ~40-60 EUR.
Option 3: Any Helsinki sauna + any Helsinki wine bar (local-style) Helsinki has public saunas scattered across the city. Kotiharjun Sauna in Kallio (1928, wood-burning, Helsinki’s last traditional public sauna) is a 10-minute walk from Wino. Sauna at Kotiharjun, then natural wine at Wino. Budget 3 hours. Total: ~40-60 EUR.
This is the one the locals do.
The full wine trail through the city: Helsinki’s Wine Trail — 7 stops, one extraordinary day
The winter version: Sauna, wine bars, and champagne in Helsinki’s darkest months
Frequently Asked Questions
What is kalsarikannit? Kalsarikannit (pronounced “karl-zar-ee-can-nit”) is a Finnish concept meaning drinking at home alone in your underwear with no intention of going out. In 2015, Finland became the first country to release official national emojis, including a woman drinking red wine in her underwear. The concept represents Finland’s unpretentious relationship with alcohol — wine is for enjoying, not performing.
Can you drink wine in a Finnish sauna? Wine in the sauna is not a traditional Finnish practice — the traditional saunajuoma (sauna drink) is beer or lonkero (gin + grapefruit). However, Helsinki’s urban sauna boom (2016 onwards) changed the rules. Loyly, Allas Sea Pool, and Uusi Sauna all serve wine and cocktails alongside sauna facilities. The combination is a 21st-century Helsinki invention.
What is Loyly Helsinki? Loyly is a public sauna and restaurant on Helsinki’s Hernesaari waterfront, designed by Avanto Architects. It features three wood-heated saunas including a rare urban smoke sauna, direct Baltic Sea swimming, and a restaurant with sea views. Named one of Time Magazine’s “World’s 100 Greatest Places” in 2018. Entry: 27 EUR for 2 hours. Mixed saunas (swimsuits required).
What is the sauna-wine sequence? The sequence popularised by Helsinki’s urban saunas: heat in an 80-degree sauna, plunge into the Baltic Sea (minus 1 C in winter), then sit on a heated terrace wrapped in a blanket with a glass of wine. The extreme sensory contrast — heat, cold, then warmth — produces a physiological response that no tasting room can replicate.
What is Kyro Distillery? Kyro Distillery was founded in 2012 by five friends sitting in a sauna in Isokyrö, Finland. They asked why Finland didn’t distil rye, despite being surrounded by rye fields. Their Napue Rye Gin won gold at San Francisco World Spirits Competition (2016), and Kyro Malt scored 98/100 at IWSC (2020). A world-class spirit born in a sauna.
Sources
- UNESCO: Finnish Sauna Culture — Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription
- Löyly Helsinki — Venue info and bookings
- Kyrö Distillery — Distillery background and tours
- Visit Helsinki — Sauna guides and tourism
Updated March 2026.
