Monday, October 25, 2010

Dutch Wine





When thinking of quality wines, one doesn't instantly think of the Netherlands.
Unjust, as connoisseurs of the Backerbosch wines would testify. The Backerbosch vineyard is located in Cadier en Keer, near the city of Maastricht in the most southern part of the Netherlands
Confrère Emile Ben Baruch harvesting grapes
The vineyard is named after the Roman Villa "Backerbosch", built around 300 AD, and with it's Roman foundations still present below the actual vineyard. The location for this villa was well chosen, with a beautiful view of the camp Mosae ad Trajectum present day Maastricht). The villa was build from blocks, cut from the underlying marl, thus creating marl caves.
During the 1960's, Roman Catholic 'fathers' began building the vineyard, planted with Optima, Kerner and Riesling grapes which grew out to the Domaine Backerbosch.
The task of the Great Council of the Domaine (pictured above) is to assist the board with the inaugurating of new Confrères and Grand Maitres of the Backerbosch Brotherhood - a system of volunteer workers that enables the vineyard to continue.
Wines of Domaine Backerbosch are bottled annually, and has numbered labels for each year, designed by a renowned local artist.

1 comment:

  1. It's too easy to look at the photo of the Great Council and call it silly but I think it's reflects tradition, all too often thrown away in the name of modernism.

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