Is Belgium to become a land of wine as well as beer?
Belgium is naturally very famous for its extensive range of high-quality beers. Do you prefer wine? Not to worry, as Belgium is increasingly becoming a wine region. Our country is producing no less than twice as much wine as 5 years ago.
In 2017, Belgium produced a total of 845,000 litres of wine. The absolute record was reached in 2015 with production amounting to 1,025,499 litres. There was a slight drop in 2016 due to poor weather conditions. However, in 2017 there was a further increase of 12 per cent. Besides the growth in wine production, there has also been an increase in the number of wine growers and the production area.
Many Belgian wines have received a PDO or PGI award. These labels attach great importance to the wine's geographic origins. The quality of the product is thus linked to the region where it was grown. In Flanders, this is the case for wine from the region of Haspengouw and Flemish sparkling wine. In Wallonia, it applies to the Côtes de Sambre et Meuse Wine.
Sparkling wine is the ultimate Belgian wine and represents 41% of the total production. White wine is also becoming more popular in Belgium