Belgium: the Smallest Wine Producing Country in the World

First published in the print edition of Vinofest, 2014.

When I ask you to list a number of wine producing countries, I guess there will only be a very small chance you mention Belgium. When you think about Belgium, you might think about beer and chocolate, but possibly not about wine. The fact is that Belgium is the smallest wine producing country in the world, and that is why you probably have never tasted a Belgian wine before.

Belgium is one of the most northern wine producing regions in the world. It has only 130 hectares under vine. The vineyards lie on the 51st latitude, about 150km north of Champagne and about 200km East of Mosel. The maritime climate that characterizes the weather is a results of the proximity to the sea. Temperatures are fairly moderate with a yearly average temperature of 10,5° and about 850mm rain. This makes the growing season very long and challenging. Harvest usually takes place mid-October and can last until the beginning of November. The key to a good vintage is a dry and sunny autumn. Too much rain during the harvest would facilitate diseases and the urge to pick earlier which has its effect on the quality of the wine.

The 130 hectares of vine produce approximately 500.000 bottles per year. This makes Belgium the smallest wine producing country in the world. Considering the fact that the total area under vines has doubled in the past 5 years, we could say that Belgian wines are becoming more popular. However, taking into account that yearly 400 million bottles are produced, the total production in relation to the consumption is negligible. Belgians drink on average 27 liter of wine annually. This raises the question why they are not making more wine themselves. In order to answer this question it is important to understand something about the history and the context of Belgian wine.

Although modern winemaking started only in the 1970s Belgium has a wine history that dates back a couple of centuries. It were the Romans who introduced the culture of winemaking in the 4th century. During this era vineyards were planted around Roman locations all over Northern Europe. Later, around 800 BC, Charlemagne started to organize agriculture (and also viticulture) in Northern Europe. During the Middle Ages wine culture flourished. The success of wine was mainly driven by the rise of Christianity, because wine was needed for the communion. Therefore, vineyards were planted between the 9th and 16th century all over Belgium, but mainly in proximity of monasteries. At that time the Belgian wines gathered fame in Northern Europe. The wines were generally considered to be of even better quality than wines coming from Northern France. In the 17th century, however, the wine culture deteriorated because of war, poverty and climatological reasons. A number of subsequent wars afflicted the country. During those days being able to survive was the most important goal and the interest in wine, which was considered as a luxury product, got lost. Vineyards were replanted with more nutritious crops such as wheat and potatoes to feed the people. At the same time many vintages failed because of a climatological change, denoted as the Little Ice Age, which made it impossible fully ripen the grapes in this northern climate. The culture of wine making got lost and Belgium developed into a beer drinking country. For about three centuries no wines were produced.

The renaissance of the Belgian wine only started about four decades ago when a couple of pioneers brought Pinot Noir vines from Burgundy and planted them in their own gardens. These pioneers inspired a number of fruit growers during the 1973 oil crisis. Due to the price pressure on fruit the idea rose not only to produce crops and sell it, but to start growing grapes and give an added value to the fruit by making wine from it. It is in that year that the first association of wine growers was founded. Today there are approximately 80 registered winemakers, of which the majority are hobbyists. There are only 10 professional wineries. The majority of the grapes planted, about 80%, are white grapes. The most important grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. It depends on the vintage, but in general 40% sparkling wine is produced, 40% white wine, and 20% red wine. Wine can technically be produced all over the country, but there are four regions from which the wines are allowed to carry an appellation. The appellation system is just as in any other European country under control of the European Union.

Belgium is a small country and agricultural land that can be used for viticulture is scarce. Therefore, it is important to understand that the focus is not on volume, but on quality. This is exactly how Belgian wines distinct themselves from others. Belgian wines have won many medals in various wine competitions all over the world. Especially the sparkling wines obtain very good results. For me this is not a surprise, since the cool climate and the proximity to Champagne makes our sparkling wines pretty similar. Belgian wines can also be found in various Michelin star restaurants. In Belgium for example every three start Michelin restaurant has a Belgian wine on its wine list. A couple of years ago Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, at that time the second best restaurant in the world, had a Belgian wine in its selection. The wines lend themselves extremely well for gastronomic purposes. Therefore, Belgian wine is rapidly gaining fame with a select group of top sommeliers and wine experts from all over the world.

I, myself, have been closely following the evolution of Belgian wines for some year and I’m very optimistic about the future. The sector is becoming more and more professional and every year I notice an increase in quality. Most of the winegrowers are very passionate and only care about style and identity. The main goal should be to reach of a select public of sophisticated wine drinkers, people who appreciate a good glass of wine, not to produce the mass volumes. Therefore, these wines will always be rather unique. Yet, I invite you to discover a Belgian wine whenever you have the opportunity.