Belgian and Dutch Limburg were the only regions in Europe to already have a cross-border wine appellation: the PDO Maasvallei Limburg. Now they can also boast a so-called wine street, together with the Flemish Brabant wine region Hageland. “This project can boost tourism in the participating regions, with wine as a connecting factor,” says Igor Philtjens, deputy for Tourism of Belgian Limburg.
Fifteen years ago, the late Steve Stevaert wrote the book From mining region to wine region. The then governor of Belgian Limburg – Burgundian par excellence – already saw the great tourist possibilities of wine production. In the meantime, quite a few steps have been taken, as can be seen from the Chapeau guide Wine cycle routes Limburg. The opening of the wine street marks a new step.
In concrete terms: in the four participating wine regions (Hageland, Haspengouw, the Belgian-Dutch Meuse Valley and Mergelland/South Limburg), walkers and cyclists can follow a signposted route past dozens of wine estates. The route covers approximately two hundred kilometers and runs along the junction network. The presentation took place in Leut Castle in Maasmechelen, where deputies Igor Philtjens (Belgian Limburg), Léon Faassen (Dutch Limburg), Gunther Coppens (Flemish Brabant) and Flemish Minister of Tourism Zuhal Demir were present.
Wine Hubs
Together they unveiled the wine street map. Extensive information is available at six wine hubs: Horst Castle (Hageland), the syrup factory (Borgloon), Leut Castle (Maasvallei Belgium), Raar Saint Remi Wine Estate (Maasvallei Netherlands), Visit Zuid-Limburg Experience Gulpen (Mergelland/South Limburg). ) and Rolduc Kerkrade Abbey (Mergelland/South Limburg).
Eleven partners will work together over the next three years to roll out the project. It is co-financed by Interreg VI Flanders-Netherlands, the cooperation program with financial support from the European Regional Development Fund.
“Wine is a new revenue model for farmers,” says Léon Faassen, deputy for Landscape and Rural Development of Dutch Limburg. “I think this is a great initiative to benefit the region to burn. Belgian and Dutch Limburgers are Burgundians. In the rest of the Netherlands, we Dutch-Limburgers are considered half Belgians. With the wine street we emphasize our common identity.”
Romans
“And wine is precisely an aspect of that identity,” adds his Belgian-Limburg colleague Igor Philtjens. “More than two thousand years ago, the Romans already made wine in these regions. It is no coincidence that wine took on an increasingly prominent role after the closure of the mines in both Limburgs. The fact that Hugo Bollen – a former mining engineer – developed the world-famous cycling junction network is a beautiful form of symbolism. The wine street can be a catalyst for tourism, because this initiative is also about castles, abbeys, nature and everything that makes our provinces so beautiful. It strengthens the connection across national borders. That is an excellent thing, because a tourist does not think in terms of borders, but of connections.”
