Surprising Secrets of Dutch Wine - Wine History and Innovations!

When you think of wine, your mind might wander to the rolling vineyards of France or Italy. But what if we told you that the Netherlands, a country more famous for its cheese and clogs, is also making waves in the world of wine. The Netherlands is the world's second largest exporter of agricultural produce. And its innovative approach extends to the vineyards as well. You might think that the Netherlands is all about flowers and cows. But here's a story about the next big thing. The history of winemaking in the Netherlands dates back to the Roman times. But it was the Middle Ages when the Dutch wine truly flourished. You can still see signs of that tradition, like here on the streets of Haarlem. Wine was more popular than beer. The best region for winemaking was the south. More hilly places like the present-day Limburg. However, a combination of climate change and competition from beer led to a decline. The Little Ice Age, a period of cooler temperatures from the 14th to the 19th century, severely impacted grape cultivation. Beer also became more affordable. Why? Well, because they started using hops in the beer. This improves the taste and the preservation of beer. Beer became the drink of the masses. In the end, plant diseases and the French gave the final blow to the vineyards in the Low Countries. The French under Napoleon occupied the Low Countries and wiped out what remained of the vineyards by the most gruesome and effective means available to any government. To enhance the French production, he raised taxes on all non-French wines. In recent years, winemaking has seen a renaissance in the Netherlands, with over 170 wineries now tucked away in the landscape. The south of the country is again the largest area. Wineries can be found in every region. Although the big growth has been in the vineyards you all know, there's a peculiar development which is worth mentioning. In the west of the country, near the sea, the demand for grapes led to a billion-euro industry. In the 19th century, vines were planted against garden walls to protect them from harsh winds and cold temperatures. The walls soaked up the heat of the sun, giving it out at night. This created a better and earlier harvest. To protect the harvest from diseases, they introduced glass plates against the walls, which quickly evolved in greenhouses leaning on the wall. Fast forward and the walls are completely left out of the growing space. Today, the Netherlands is a world leader in greenhouse technology. And it all started with grapes. Some of the techniques in these greenhouses differ from the open-field vineyards. The cutting process was pioneered in the greenhouses, still used in the biodynamic vineyards today. So, what's the size of the Dutch wine market today? Well, for that question I will go to the experts. Housed just outside the center of Haarlem are the Wild Boys, the Wilde Joggers as they call themselves. They open up their man cave, I mean shop, once a week for a few hours. That's not a lot, but they also have a great website. So, according to the experts, Dutch wine is still very small, in comparison to, let's say, the French. There's about 300 hectares of grapevines standing in the Netherlands. In comparison, there's about 120,000 hectares standing in the Bordeaux alone. So it's not the quantity, but the quality, that is sometimes sold even from very small wineries in stores like this. And when I mean small, it's like a production of 500 bottles of a certain wine per year. A significant part of the Dutch grapes are grown on small organic or even biodynamic farms. Today, we're visiting such a biodynamic farm. This winery not only produces traditional grapes, but has some other interesting features. First of all, biodynamic farming. Biodynamic farming is a holistic approach that treats the farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem. This means minimal external inputs, composting, and even planting and harvesting according to a lunar cycle. This farm has a no-dig philosophy. Underneath the grapevines, a wide range of other plants are planted, like chamomile, which will be used in winter as the addition for the cow's diet. But there's a lot more growing on this farm, like apples, pears and vegetables. Currently, it's harvest time for the strawberries, which also grow under the vines. So what do you do with so many strawberries? Well, you can make jam of course. But since this is a winery, they decided to utilize their existing stools to make... Strawberry wine. But what about the bigger farms? Well, there are some award-winning wineries in the Netherlands. They produce great stuff and take advantage of the Dutch way of doing things. A good example of this are the wineries in the south of the country, like Sint Martinez. They make a big variety of wine, including red wine and the sparkling wine. Sparkling wine, like champagne, is made with a second fermentation. During the second fermentation, the bottle is turned a little bit every couple of hours by hand. They do this to increase the interaction with the yeast. This process is done a couple of weeks long. Sint Martinez and their partner winery Ampersand decided to do this differently. The Netherlands has a very big and long fishing tradition. And this was used in creating some special wines. The sparkling wines were loaded in a cage, normally used for the cultivation of oysters in the delta. This container doesn't sink to the ground, but is suspended from a platform in the sea at a depth of about 15 meters. So, the bottles are lowered and hanging there in the water, and the platform moves with the waves up and down. By this movement and the different pressure and temperature, yeast moves slowly but constantly in the bottle, adding complexity to the wine. And last month, the cage was lifted out of the water. They call this wine Betut de Mer. As you can see, the Dutch wines are full of innovation. And now, let's have a drink. I will see you guys next time. And don't forget to like and subscribe and leave a comment. Do you like it? It's really good. It will stir up very well.