The high temperatures of these last several weeks have certainly made people happy, among them the Belgian winegrowers ! Thanks to the sun and the heat, they can hope for the best harvest in years.
Whereas the rainy weather in the first months of the year did not augur well for the numerous Belgian winegrowers, the improvement of the weather conditions in the past 2 months has brought its share of surprises and satisfaction. Hence 2016, despite heaven’s vagaries, can be considered as a good year for the Belgian wine sector ! If this type of weather holds on until September, the Belgian winegrowers will have an excellent harvest.
Due to the bad weather conditions in the beginning of the year, the Belgian winegrowers are growing less grapes than last year and will produce 20 to 30 % less wine. Nevertheless, thanks to the sunny days of the last few months the grapes will be fully ripe, enhancing the quality of the Belgian wine.
In spite of this caution is required as the grapes can only be harvested within a month from now. A lot can happen during that period, but the future is looking extremely promising for the Belgian wine sector. Last year the area cultivated by the Belgian wine sector has increased by 20% or by 300 hectares. This trend will continue in the coming years.
Belgian wines could even compete with German and French wines. Still, we will need to await next spring before we can taste the Belgian wine for which the grapes were harvested in October.
