Warmer summers boost Belgian wine production to record-highs

Warmer summers boost Belgian wine production to record-highs
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Belgian wine production rose to new highs in 2018, a record-breaking year which saw levels nearly double 2017 figures, in a hike largely attributed to increasingly warm summers, a new federal report shows.

The new figures, released by the Federal Public Service economy agency (FPS Economie), show that the wine sector is booming in the country as production appears to be on a steady climb.

Stopping just shy of the two million litre mark, at 1,983,143 litres, Belgian wine production last year all but doubled 2017 levels, year in which around a million litres of the beverage were produced in the country.

"The Belgian wine sector continues to grow," a press release of the report said, adding that the surge in production also saw many Belgian-made wines awarded quality-indicator labels, such as the European AOP or IGP.

The significant uptick in the number of wine bottles rolled out by producers last year was largely attributed to the high temperatures of last summer — which spelt trouble for other agricultural and farming sectors in the country.

A total of 384 hectares of land are exploited by hundreds of winemakers in Belgium, where majority of the wine produced is white or sparkling.

With over 500,000 litres produced last year, the southern province of Hainaut was crowned the "champion of production," with the provinces of Limburg and Namur following behind.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


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