Wijngaard Saalhof

The Netherlands

"When the vines came in, some people said: What on earth is he doing?"

As old as Methúsalem

To be honest, we didn’t expect to find a thriving winery in the northwestern part of the Netherlands, which is as flat as can be. But the region has an agricultural character, with thousands of fruit trees around the villages Nibbixwoud and Wognum, so why not growing grapes? The ancient village of Wognum was formed around 900 and even used to have city rights for a short period of time. The history of the farm that was located where Wijngaard Saalhof now is, also goes back centuries.

Painting and finishing

Owner Siem Loos used to have a thriving paint and finishing business with a lot of employees before he decided to make the switch to become a winemaker. A far cry from what he used to do! At first it wasn’t even about the wine for him, but about the feeling and the atmosphere you sense when you are walking through a vineyard. This feeling was his drive to plant the first vines in 2006 and it resulted in a true agrotourism business.

Surpising choice of grape varieties 

Like many other wineries in Holland, Siem chose to plant hybrid wine grape varieties like Johanniter, Solaris and Souvignier Gris to make white wines from. Besides Rondo, which is a hybrid variety to make red wines from and that is also suitable to the Dutch climate, he surprised us with a blend from Rondo and Pinot Noir. A Traditional Method sparkling wine completes this tasty selection.

It’s all there

The dream of an agrotourism business has become quite real as Wijngaard Saalhof now also offers Bed & Breakfast, holiday appartments and even a gourmet restaurant. Tours, tastings, business meetings and getting married, it’s all possible. Wognum is also one of the stops of the historical steamtram railway between Hoorn and Medemblik that opened in 1887. Take a day out from staying in Amsterdam and enjoy the ride. In springtime the steamtram will take you through the colourful bulbfields.