Cheers! The number of vineyards in the Netherlands has almost doubled over the last five years.
The Dutch are known for their beer and jenever, and while the beer industry in the Netherlands continues to grow, the booming wine industry should certainly not be overlooked! When picturing a vineyard, you may imagine rolling hills in France, Italy, Australia or California, but this small country also has something special to offer.
The growing popularity of local and organic wines over the last few years has seen the Dutch wine industry flourish; in 2016, there were only 94 vineyards in the Netherlands, but this week the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) reported this number had almost doubled to 171 in 2021.
In total, Dutch vineyards cover around 250 hectares of land (around 2,5 square kilometres), producing approximately 900.00 litres of wine every year - that’s around one million bottles!
The figures show that there are wineries in all of the Dutch provinces, but Gelderland and Limburg have proven to be the most popular amongst vintners (or winemakers to those who love the drink but don’t know so much about the process of making it). The good news is that many of them are also open to the public for tastings and tours, so the next time you're not sure what to do on a sunny weekend, why not check out your local vineyard?