Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom

The Netherlands

"We grow varieties for the northern climate. Really different from those in France..."

Winemaking between the rivers Meuse and Waal

On a typical cloudy and rainy day in the Netherlands, that obviously shows the challenges Dutch winemakers have to face, we paid a visit to Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom in the village of Hurwenen. The small winery of two hectares is located in the region Bommelerwaard, in between the rivers Meuse and Waal, not far from the historic city of Zaltbommel. The rivers have a direct impact on the soil and provide a fluvial deposit of sandy clay, ideal for fruit growing.

Organic winemaking in The Netherlands

For owners of Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom, Huib Overmars and his wife Lotte Rippen, it really was a dream come true to find a vineyard for sale. It even already existed for ten years before they acquired it in 2007. That gave them the unique opportunity to quickly go in full production. The best thing about this vineyard however was that the previous owner grew his grapes organically already and without any doubt they chose to continue this ecological approach.

Entrance of organic winery Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom

$A refractometer measures the \'sugar weight\' in grapes.$

Big skies over some newly planted vines at organic Dutch winery Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom

PIWI grape varieties

By using so called PIWI grape varieties that are more suitable for the Dutch climate, it’s possible for Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom to produce wines in an organic, traditional and sustainable way. Varieties used for white wine production are Johanniter, Solaris, Bianca and Palatina. For producing red wines in these cool, wet conditions, the varieties they use are Regent, Rondo, Cabernet Cortis and Cabernet Cantor.

Wine tasting at Wijndomein Oude Waalstroom

The winery is not open daily to the public, but only by appointment. You can book a variety of arrangements though for gatherings large and small, tasting included of course! Combine it with a walk or bike ride on this ‘island’ between the two big rivers and experience the rich history of nearby fortresses and castles. Tired? Go to the city of Zaltbommel, sit on a terrace along the river with a glass of wine and watch the large riverboats pass under the bridge.

Betuws Wijndomein

Betuws Wijndomein is owned by Dutch winemaker Diederik Beker who planted in 2004 the first couple of vines on one hectare, together with his father. With over six hectares now he runs one of the larger vineyards in the Netherlands. In the beautiful Betuwe region, among the many fruit orchards, he has planted 70% white grape varieties and 30% is used for rosé and red wines.

Wijngaard Dassemus

In the close surroundings of Chaam, in the southern Dutch province of Brabant, you will find the hamlet Dassemus where the eponymous vineyard of Ron Langeveld is located. Because he wants to approach his vineyard as ecological as possible, he chose to plant resistant grape varieties like Solaris, Rondo and Johanniter.

Domaine d'Heerstaayen

In the valley of the river Mark, on the border with Belgium, is where vineyard Domaine d’Heerstaayen is situated. As early as in 1979 the construction of a vineyard was started here. Much knowledge about viticulture was not available by then in the Netherlands.