Belgian wine promises to be good this year

In spite of the drought that has hit the country, the sun-drenched vineyards of Wallonia promise a good harvest.

At the Glabais vineyard, located in the heart of Walloon Brabant, Christian Balduyck expects a good yield. Despite the lack of rainfall since the beginning of the summer, "the vines are resistant plants", he explains. "Unlike the young plants, which are very sensitive to water shortages, the drought has not affected the older vines, whose roots are able to draw water deep from the soil.

In the absence of hail, thunderstorms or heavy rain, he plans to make the first cuts between 10 and 20 September. "This is early," he says, "but it corresponds to the 2018-2019 years, which were also very hot" and considered exceptional for Walloon wine.

The harvest will also be earlier at Domaine du Chenoy, in the province of Namur, where Jean-Bernard Despatures plans to start harvesting in the first half of September. Like other winegrowers, he expects "good quantities from the oldest vines and a larger production than in previous years".

Thanks to the favourable weather conditions, the vines have been spared from disease. The hot weather "also allowed us to reach higher natural levels of ripeness of the grapes and to produce better quality wines than a few years ago", continues Christian Balduyck, of the Glabais estate.

While optimism prevails among many winemakers, all are wary of speculating about better harvests due to rising temperatures. "Global warming is not good for wine production, but for extreme weather events," says Nicolas Ferrara of the Bouhouille estate in the province of Liege. And he recalls the catastrophic floods of the summer of 2021.

For winegrowers, extreme weather events remain risk factors, just like spring frosts and drought for young plants.

© BELGA PHOTO