2355) Viticulture in Belgium: bpost (Belgian Post) has issued a set of five stamps celebrating the five major wine regions of the country - Hageland, Haspengouw, Heuvelland, Côtes de Sambre et Meuse, Crémant de Wallonie: Date of Stamp issue: 21.10.2021:
Excerpted from a study of books kept in my huge Wine Reference Books Library:
About Viticulture in Belgium:
Viticulture is the scientific study of cultivation of grapevines for being used specifically for wine production, particularly with a focus on growth and production of grapevines.
Belgian wine first appeared in the Middle Ages, around the 9th century when the first attempts at viniculture in Belgium were made around this time.
By the 14th century, each city had its own vineyard, whether within or outside the city walls. The cities of Tournai, Louvain, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Thuin, Hal, Dinant, Namur, Tongres, and Huy, among others, have left signs of their vinicultural activities in the form of local place names such as Wijnberg, mount of vines, Wijngaard, Dutch vineyard, Vivegnis and Vinalmont.
The first to cultivate vines in the region were monks, who needed a clean, safe beverage for their celebrations, as such, the first vineyards were owned by the abbeys.
Some of the more organized abbeys even owned vineyards outside of their districts.
Wine grapes were also cultivated by individuals, as well as, by seigneurs such as the Dukes of Burgundy, who owned the vineyards at Brussels, Louvain, Aarschot, Namur and Mons.
Climatic conditions in the 15th century presented difficulties for viniculture, with the onset of the Little Ice Age.
Some vineyards in favorable microclimates survived until the 17th century.
During this same era, techniques of beer production advanced and, owing to the addition of hops, storage life was prolonged. Beer, thus, gained in popularity, and eventually supplanted wine as the most common bacteriologically safe beverage.
The expansion of the Belgian wine-growing areas in the late 20th and early 21st century was part of a larger trend of increase in cold-climate winemaking.
In many cases, new vineyards were created in areas previously known for orchards.
Wine regions:
Wine production occurs in both Wallonia and Flanders.
As French is one of Belgium's official languages, the official terms used for Belgian wine regions are the same as those for French wine.
Belgium has five officially demarcated "Appellations d'origine contrôlées" (AOCs), four in Flanders and one in Wallonia, and two Vin de pays regions (country wine).
Hageland, situated in Flemish Brabant close to Leuven, was the first AOC was created, in 1997.
AOC Haspengouw (Hesbaye) followed in 2000, located in Limburg, close to the border with Netherlands, and home to Belgium's most famous "château" and largest wine producer, Wijnkasteel Genoels-Elderen.
AOC Heuvelland followed in 2005.
In Dutch, these three Flemish AOCs are written as "Hagelandse wijn", "Haspengouwse wijn" and "Heuvellandse wijn", respectively, and the official term corresponding to the French term AOC is "Gecontroleerde oorsprongsbenaming".
There is also an AOC for quality sparkling wine from Flanders, Vlaamse mousserende kwaliteitswijn, created in 2005.
The first Wallonian AOC, Côtes de Sambre et Meuse, was created in 2004, and is situated between the rivers Sambre and Meuse, in the vicinity of Liège.
The two Vin de Pays (country wine) regions cover Flanders and Wallonia, respectively.
The Flemish country wine is simply designated "Vlaamse landwijn", while the Wallonian country wine carries the slightly more fanciful name "Vin de pays des Jardins de Wallonie".
The Souvenir Stamp Sheet:
This Stamp issue is printed on special paper in the shape of a vine leaf.
The theme: Belgian wine production has been growing strongly in recent years. The country excels especially in white wines and sparkling wines. Belgian wine is also gaining more and more recognition internationally.
There are five main regions - Hageland, Haspengouw, Heuvelland, Côtes de Sambre et Meuse, Crémant de Wallonie.
Technical details:
Issue Date: 25.10.2021
Designer/Layout: Leen Depooter
Repro and printing: bpost Philately & Stamps Printing
Process: Offset
Format of the stamps: a-c-e : 30mm x 40mm, b : 50mm x 40mm, d : 40mm x 30mm
Size of the leaf: 164mm x 177mm
Layout of the sheet: 5 stamps
Value: 1 destination Europe. For standardized shipments up to 50g
Paper: gummed Constellation Jade FSC
Toothing: 11 1/2
(Seeing my abiding interest in wines and the study of Viticulture my friend Jayant Biswas who is an avid Numismatist and Philatelist has gifted the above stamp-Souvenir Sheet for my stamp collection)
5) City of Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium: 20 Years as UNENCO World Heritage Site: A 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the Royakl Dutch Mint under licencing of the Royal Belgian Mint, on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium: Coin issue date: 26.02.2020
6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
Posts on Finland on this Blog:
15) "Franking Labels" from Greenland: Franking Labels issued by POST Greenland Filatelia since 2009 onwards: A brief analysis
16) Ancient Postal Routes - the Postal Boat Race - between Aland and Sweden", Aland, Finland: A EUROPA Postage Stamp of 2.00 Euro issued by Aland Post: Date of Stamp issue: 08.05.2020
For interesting posts from the Caribbean Netherlands on this blog:
9) "De Haar Castle", Utrecht, Netherlands: The first Coin to be released in the "Dutch Castles" Coin Series: A silver Ducat Trade Coin with a history spanning over 350 years, minted by the Royal Dutch Mint: Date/Year of Delivery: 04/2020
10) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 Years of the first Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp Set issued by POstNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020
12) 75th Anniversary of the United Nations Organisation (UNO), The Netherlands: A Coin-card set of three denominations of 0.50 Euros, 0.20 Euros and 0.05 Euros minted by the Royal Dutch Mint to celebrate the milestone: Year of Coin-card issue: 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment