Route des vins

Last week we spent a girls weekend in Limburg in the South of The Netherlands. Amongst many activities, like going to the spa, doing a boat tour and a lot of catching up, laughing, eating and drinking, we went on a wine tasting tour through the South of Limburg.

We slept at Hoeve Haan, which is highly recommended. Away from the city buzz and right in the heart of nature, you’ll find yourself surrounded by the most pretty views, sunrises and sunsets!

Before we were planning this wine tour, I didn't know that making wine was even possible in our Dutch climate. However, making wine is becoming more and more popular and there are many wine houses to visit.

When the summer weather seems endless, like this year, you don’t have to travel far to have the feeling you’re in Italy, France or Austria. That goes to say for the beautiful hills of South Limburg, but also for its wines.

We planned our Route des vins and rented our scooters. If you want to partake guided tours, it’s wise to give the owners of the wine houses a call, since some of them only do so during the weekends or for larger groups. We decided to do two guided tours and one visit by ourselves.

We started our tour at Wijndomein Ceres, where we were warmly welcomed by the owner Cor Voncken. After his retirement from real estate, he decided to follow his dream and he started creating his own wine. On the top of a small hill you’ll find his beautiful vineyard. The wine house itself is a large shed and the tasting took place in the storage room. It wasn’t a polished setting, but it definitely added to the authenticity of this wine house and its sympathetic owner Cor.

The first wine we tasted was a white Auxerrois from 2014. I’m not going to pretend I’m a wine expert, but I do know what I like.. And boy did I like this one! It’s not too dry and very light on the tongue and I’d think it’s perfect for a summer afternoon on your balcony or to combine with fish and salads.

After that, we tasted a red wine, a pinot noir from 2015. It was not a dark colored, very intense red wine, which I usually prefer. Nevertheless, the fact that it was only still 11:30 PM made this wine very suited for the occasion.

We paired the wines with ‘Camembert et pain’ and the first stop during this wine tour felt like a true French experience🍷.

We were supposed to taste three wines; a white, a red and a rosé wine. However, we were not spitting anything out (dûh) and Cor was generously pouring, so we only had the white and the red one. However, Cor insisted on us taking home two bottles of rosé, so we could complete our wine tasting at home 😏

Armed with two rosé wines tucked away in our scooters, we continued our way…

After a much needed stop to make a group picture (many thanks to the cyclist, who came to the rescue), we navigated to De 4 Jaargetijden, a nice restaurant in .. with a modern yet cosy interior and classic dishes with a twist. Being the typical Dutchies we are, we had a ‘boterham’ or a ‘tostie’ and we took a break from the wine to hydrate 💦

Only a short ride from there, we arrived at Domijn Holset, where we scheduled a tasting of their sparkling wines. Domijn Holset consists of one large and impressive brick stone building, where tastings, meetings and parties (wedding location, hello!) are being held and some buildings with several rooms, where you can stay the night and wake up to the most mesmerizing view! 

Again, we were welcomed very friendly and after the tour through the premises, we started the sparkling wine tasting. We tasted three ‘brut’s’, all with a different level of dryness and maturity. Amongst us, we couldn’t decide on which wine was our overall favorite, but all three of them had a soft taste and a sparkle that wasn’t to harch. As time went on, the ambiance at Domijn Holset was getting more jolly and I promise it had absolutely nothing to do with these sparkling wines 😜

After this very successful stop at Domijn Holset, we continued our way to Wijngaard St. Martinus. Just like the rest of the day, you wouldn’t believe you’re in the Netherlands when you drive your scooter onto the rustic parcel of St. Martinus. A wide vineyard, a view of green hills and a clear blue sky to complete the scenery. There’s a beautiful and cosy terrace and inside, you’ll find modern and contemporary interior. 

We hadn’t planned a guided tour at St. Martinus and time was running out, since it was only 15 minutes before closing time. This is why we decided to skip the tasting. We did buy some red wine to take home with us, so we could start our BBQ night with some finger food and a nice St. Martinus wine.

We drank the wine back at Hoeve Haan, our home for the weekend, and it tasted very good. Again, let me stress that I’m not an expert, but I’d say this taste was a bit more intense than the red wine we had that morning. However, for the price we payed for the St. Martinus wine, I had expected a bit more… but hey, taste is something very personal.

It’s hard to miss that I’m very enthusiastic about this wine tasting tour and about the South of Limburg, right? Enjoying nature and good wine in the company of precious friends, what more can you ask for!

Like all great things, this wine tasting tour came to and end, just like our weekend. However, I’m very happy I still have some souvenirs, in the form of some white wines from Wijndomijn Ceres, to relive this beautiful memory every once in a while.

My advise?

Go to the South of Limburg with people you love and you will love it ❤️

See you in my next blog post!

XX Mieke