Wine making in Belgium
Belgian wine
is produced in several parts of
Belgium
and production, although still modest at 1,400
hectoliters
in 2004,
[1]
has expanded in recent decades.
[2]
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Belgian wine first appeared in the
Middle Ages
, around the 9th century. It is unlikely that
wine
was made in the area now known as
Belgium
before that, since the climate was not suitable and
Gaul
was covered with thick forests. However, there are mentions of Paris vineyards in the 4th century. From that time,
vine
cultivation spread northward and in the 8th century the banks of the
Rhine
were covered with vineyards. The first attempts at
viniculture
in Belgium were made around the same time. Moreover, the vineyards were already well established in
Amay
. The vineyard at
Vivegnis
, in the north of the province of
Liege
, was already considered old in the 9th century, as well as the vineyard at
Huy
, which belonged in part to the Bishop of Liege. The edges of the
Meuse River
were intensively cultivated because they offered well-exposed hillsides.
In the 14th century, each city had its own vineyard, whether within or outside the city walls. The cities of
Tournai
,
Louvain
,
Brussels
,
Bruges
,
Ghent
,
Thuin
,
Hal
,
Dinant
,
Namur
,
Tongres
, and
Huy
, among others, have left signs of their vinicultural activities in the form of local place names such as Wijnberg,
mount of vines
, Wijngaard, Dutch
vineyard
, Vivegnis and Vinalmont.
The first to cultivate vines in the region were monks, who needed a clean, safe beverage for their celebrations, one that would risk contaminating neither the citizens nor the rainwater
catchment
; the vine responded to their efforts, and so the first vineyards were the property of
abbeys
. Some of the more organized abbeys even owned vineyards outside of their districts. Wine grapes were also cultivated by individuals, as well as by
seigneurs
such as the
Dukes of Burgundy
, who owned the vineyards at
Brussels
,
Louvain
,
Aarschot
,
Namur
and
Mons
.
Climatic conditions in the 15th century presented difficulties for viniculture, with the onset of the
Little Ice Age
. Some vineyards in favorable
microclimates
survived until the 17th century.
During this same era, techniques of beer production advanced and, owing to the addition of
hops
, storage life was prolonged. Beer gained in popularity, and eventually supplanted wine as the most common bacteriologically safe
beverage.
The expansion of the Belgian winegrowing area in the late 20th and early 21st century is part of a larger trend of increase in cold-climate winemaking. In many cases, new vineyards have been created in areas previously known for
orchards
.
Wine regions
[
edit
]
Wine production occurs in both
Wallonia
and
Flanders
. As French is one of Belgium's official languages, the official terms used for Belgian wine regions are the same as those for
French wine
. Belgium has five officially demarcated
Appellations d'origine controlees
(AOCs), four in
Flanders
and one in
Wallonia
, and two
Vin de pays
regions.
[1]
[4]
Hageland
, situated in
Flemish Brabant
close to
Leuven
, was the first AOC was created, in 1997. AOC Haspengouw (
Hesbaye
) followed in 2000, located in
Limburg
, close to the border with
Netherlands
, and home to Belgium's most famous "
chateau
" and largest wine producer,
Wijnkasteel Genoels-Elderen
.
[5]
AOC
Heuvelland
followed in 2005.
[6]
In Dutch, these three Flemish AOCs are written as
Hagelandse wijn
,
Haspengouwse wijn
and
Heuvellandse wijn
, respectively, and the official term corresponding to the French term AOC is
Gecontroleerde oorsprongsbenaming
. There is also an AOC for quality sparkling wine from Flanders,
Vlaamse mousserende kwaliteitswijn
, created in 2005.
[4]
[7]
The first Wallonian AOC, Cotes de Sambre et Meuse, was created in 2004, and is situated between the rivers
Sambre
and
Meuse
, in the vicinity of
Liege
.
The two
Vin de Pays
(country wine) regions cover Flanders and Wallonia, respectively. The Flemish country wine is simply designated
Vlaamse landwijn
, while the Wallonian country wine carries the slightly more fanciful name
Vin de pays des Jardins de Wallonie
.
[8]
Wine styles
[
edit
]
Wines of different styles are produced, but around 90 percent of the production is white wines.
[1]
Those that receive the most attention are white wines produced from
Chardonnay
grapes, produced in a style somewhat reminiscent of a white
Burgundy wine
. While both unoaked ("
Chablis
-style") and
oaked
("
Cote de Beaune
-style") Chardonnay wines are produced, the oaked examples have been more successful with wine critics.
Grape varieties
[
edit
]
For AOC Hageland, the following grape varieties are authorised:
[9]
- White grapes:
Auxerrois
,
Bacchus
,
Chardonnay
,
Muller-Thurgau
,
Kerner
,
Optima
,
Ortega
,
Pinot blanc
,
Pinot gris
,
Riesling
,
Siegerrebe
,
Wurzer
.
- Red grapes:
Dornfelder
,
Pinot Meunier
,
Pinot noir
.
For AOC Cotes de Sambre et Meuse, the following grape varieties are authorised:
[10]
- White grapes:
Auxerrois
,
Bronner
,
Chardonnay
,
Chasselas
,
Chenin
,
Johanniter
,
Madeleine Angevine
,
Merzling
,
Muller-Thurgau
(or
Rivaner
),
Muscat
,
Ortega
,
Pinot blanc
,
Pinot gris
,
Riesling
,
Seibel
,
Sieger
,
Traminer
(or
Gewurztraminer
).
- Red grapes:
Gamay
,
Merlot
,
Pinot noir
,
Pinot noir precoce
,
Regent
.
For Flemish sparkling wine:
[7]
Other grapes grown in Belgium include:
Muscat bleu
,
[11]
Solaris
.
[12]
Wine competition
[
edit
]
The country counts few wine competitions. But only the
International Wine Contest
of
Monde Selection
received the patronage of the
O.I.V.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Jancis Robinson
, ed. (2006).
"Belgium"
.
Oxford Companion to Wine
(Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.
75?76
.
ISBN
0-19-860990-6
.
- ^
"Expatica December 10, 2004: Not so sour grapes"
. Archived from
the original
on June 5, 2011
. Retrieved
March 20,
2009
.
- ^
"Wines and Beers of Belgium"
.
Angloinfo Belgium
.
Angloinfo
. Retrieved
2016-06-14
.
- ^
a
b
European Commission: List of quality wines produced in specified regions
, version 10.02.2009, p. 1
- ^
Wijnkasteel.com
Archived
March 21, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
, accessed on March 21, 2009
- ^
Ministerieel besluit houdende erkenning van Heuvellandse wijn als kwaliteitswijnmet gecontroleerde oorsprongsbenaming V.Q.P.R.D.
Archived
July 6, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
, November 18, 2005
(in Dutch)
- ^
a
b
Ministerieel besluit houdende erkenning van in bepaalde gebieden voortgebrachte mousserende kwaliteitswijn als ≪Vlaamse mousserende kwaliteitswijn≫
Archived
July 6, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
, November 18, 2005
(in Dutch)
- ^
European Commission: List of table wines with geographical indication
, version 10.02.2009, p. 1
- ^
Wijnkasteel.com: AOC-VQPRD
, accessed on March 23, 2009
(in Dutch)
- ^
Wallex:
Arrete ministeriel portant agrement des ≪Cotes de Sambre et Meuse≫ comme vin de qualite d’appellation d’originecontrolee V.Q.P.R.D.
, (M.B. du 04/11/2004, p. 74553)
(in French)
- ^
J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz
Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours
pg 687 Allen Lane 2012
ISBN
978-1-846-14446-2
- ^
Vlaamse Landwijn, Zwijnaarde 2018 (with
Bianca (grape)
; Vin Belge Baulers 2018
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]
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