Home TravelEurope Dutch vineyards you should put on your bucket list

Dutch vineyards you should put on your bucket list

by Elisa Flitter Fever
2 comments 4.3K views
This content is available in:

Did you know that The Netherlands has more than 100 vineyards? At one you can only buy wine bottles, at the other you can also do tastings and take a guided vineyard tour. I am already making good plans for this summer. Let me take you into the world of the Dutch vineyards. The following 12 Dutch vineyards and wineries are on my bucket list this summer, in random order. Where would you like to taste a glass of wine?

Visiting a Dutch vineyard
Visiting a vineyard, always fun!

In the last part of this article you will find a mobile friendly map with a complete overview of the Dutch vineyards that I have discovered so far.

Zwirs Vineyard

Once the weather starts to get really nice, I would like to visit Zwirs Vineyard in Otterleek near Heerhugowaard (North-Holland) with my best friend Sylvia. Pretty close to her house, so she can ride her mobility scooter and I can go on my bicycle, perfect! Apparently Zwirs has been serving wine here since 2014, super close, but never been. Awful, right? I have already seen that they also have picnic tables and so on, so we can enjoy a few wines there in the sun. And then we’ll ride home curling haha ā€‹ā€‹Let’s see when we can do this, they will open again in May. So let the beautiful weather come please!

Domein Holset

My friend Melissa‘s birthday is at the end of June. That seemed like a good excuse to toast to life together. Escape from the hustle and bustle of our jobs (she works at a hospital). Melissa also likes sparkling wine, so my suggestion was to go to Domein Holset in Lemiers in South Limburg to go. And she said yes too! I feel lucky. Tasting Dutch sparkling wine, vineyard walks through the rolling countryside, eating out at the Mes Amis wine restaurant in Maastricht… Already looking forward to it!

Cheers to the beautiful rolling countryside of South Limburg
Cheers to the beautiful rolling countryside of South Limburg

Hof van Twente

My friend Marion lives in Enschede in the east of The Netherlands, where I like to visit anyway, lovely city and surroundings. For some years now we have been talking about going to the Hof van Twente to go in Bentelo. But somehow it didn’t happen yet. Time to change that. The weekend in July has already been scheduled. I saw it’s a 1.5 hour bike ride from her house, but with good weather we can make a great day trip out of it I think. The Hof van Twente has a very good reputation, so I am very curious! I am already looking forward to a glass of Sueterie RosĆ© with my dear friend there.

Vineyard Saint Catharinadal

Friend and fellow travel blogger Elizabeth lives in Noord-Brabant. Wine is not really her thing, but she does like old buildings and making photos. Now that’s great! Vineyard Saint Catharinadal in Oosterhout is located near a monastery where real nuns still live and work. It seems very special to me, just to take a quiet stroll around there, absorb the peacefulness. They do gice tours, which are on Wednesdays, so that is not really easy in combination with a full-time job. But if it is all possible again this summer, we will definitely go there sometime. Afterwards we can eat some tasty tapas with Merlijn, yummy!

Winery Wilgenhorst

You might not expect it, but they also have a number of beautiful vineyards on Flevoland. What a co-incidencce I have several friends living there. Winery Wilgenhorst is located in Zeewolde (more than 3.8 meters under sea level), what is about 25 min by car or 75 min by bicycle from Almere. I found befriended colleage AndrĆ© crazy enough for wanting to join me on an occassion. And if friend Monique, also from Almere, would join me then for wine tasing at Vineyard Maronesse in Markness now that would make me even more happy! There is also an Urban vineyard in Almere with package deals in summer, which is even closer. Clearly we’ll have options enough!

Vineyard Bilderhof

My friend Diny from Zoetermeer immediately responded enthusiastically to my proposal to visit a vineyard together this summer. Vineyard Bilderhof in Dordrecht is still a 45 minute drive from her house, yet that should not spoil the fun. On the photo in the book 12X Wijn Weekendje Weg in NL (12X Wine Weekend Away in NL) the terrace with vineyard view looks attractive. We’re just so ready for this. To just get out and about, to enjoy the sun with a glass of red or white in our hands. And they have both (white and red) at Bilderhof, they were evn the first in The Netherlands to win a gold medal for both, great!

Red grapes in a Dutch vineyard
Red grapes in a vineyard (foto Max Harlynking)

Wine farm ‘t Heekenbroek

The reason I am planning to visit this vineyard may sound a bit silly – I have a gift card laying around of it ā€“ but I’m genuinely looking forward to it. Last year was already planning on a visit, but then something came up. Wine farm ā€™t Heekenbroek also has a B&B so that is perfect. Now I just need to find someone who wants to join me in tasting the wines here. Who knows I can ask Laura of Wine & Travel to join me, she does not live too far from that area. At least it looks-like inviting place!

Vineyard Colonjes

This wine farm is a must anyway, because on this site is the Dutch Wine Center, the national knowledge center in the field of wine growing. And every year at the end of September the Dutch Wine Festival takes place in Groesbeek! I hope it can take place this year, as a precaution I already booked a hotel. Who knows Jennie, Marion or Melissa would like to join? Well, we’ll see, we’ll make it a fun weekend anyway. With a roundtour of vineyards in the area, such as Winery De Heikant, Vineyard De Plack, Vineyard Van Ditshuizen and Vineyard Klein Amerika. Small scale but fun!

Vineyard De Amsteltuin

This vineyard is so close to home, it cannot be missing from this list. Never been, so we are going to change that this year. Perhaps Melissa and I will visit Vineyard De Amsteltuin on a Saturday soon. To practice already a bit for our Wine Weekend Away to South Limburg end of june! My cousin/friend Naomi from Amsterdam probably would like to join as well. A vineyard that close to Amsterdam, it simply exists! Awesome, right?!

Winery Wolf

Based on the name I already made the immediate decision that my friend Mirjam and I should visit this vineyard. To taste some wines and see if she can put them on the mmenu of her hotel restaurant Wolf Kitchen & Bar. With such a name match, that would be very cool of course. Normally, Mirjam is always too busy with her business in summer and she cannot leave for a long weekend away. I sincerely hope that she can re-open her business as soon as possible, that we can quickly leave this sad lockdown behind us. I’m sure we’ll find a free spot in our agendas for a weekend away to Winery Wolf in Sint-Michielgestel (North Brabant). Ah well, something that is good and well preserved…

White grapes in Dutch vineyard
White grapes in vineyard

Hof van ā€™t Hogeland

Peetra, the author of 12X Wijn Weekendje Weg in NL already told me about it. This vineyard in Mensingeweer (Groningen) in the far northeast of The Netherlands makes really good wines and I definitely want to taste that myself. It will undoubtedly be no coincidence that the Groot Maarslag wines are served in many top restaurants. I am very curious. The next time I get close to it is already in April, then I will go again with my boyfriend to Drenthe. Let’s see if that’s a good time or not? Otherwise we’ll just at least pick up a few bottles. Or go to Wijngaard De Croonhoven? That’s closer to where we plan to stay in northern Drenthe.

Vineyard The Crown of Texel

If possible, I would still like to visit Vineyard The Crown of Texel in Den Burg on Texel island this year before harvest. No joke, also on Texel there is a vineyard ā€“ with B&B! Maaike of Reisgelukjes wants to join me, so that is already arranged. Hopefully we can avoid the school holidays a bit, but Texel is always fun. The traffic jams already start with us in Alkmaar in summer, so I think w’d probably better go by train, on the boat and then hop on a bicicyle to Den Burg. Cycling for half an hour from the boat to the vineyard, now that should work fine.

Vineyards in The Netherlands – Dutch book

Almost all vineyards mentioned in this article can be found in the book 12X Wijn Weekendje Weg in NL by Registered Vinologist Peetra van der Knaap. A beautiful handbook with 55 Dutch vineyards. You can read an interview with Peetra in the article Visiting Dutch vineyards is the perfect staycation.

Dutch vineyards

Earlier I visited the following vineyards in The Netherlands:

  • Vineyard De Koen in Zuid Scharwoude (recommended)
  • Vineyards in South Limburg (recommended)
  • Wine bottles and jam at Wij’N Gaard op Tiendeveen (friendly owner, not so great wine)
Wine bottles and jam at Wij'N Gaard op Tiendeveen in Drenthe
Wine bottles and jam at Wij’N Gaard op Tiendeveen

Map vineyards in The Netherlands

This map includes places and spots mentioned in this article (and more). This one is ‘smartphone friendly’; you can easily use it via the Google Maps app. Click the icon at the top left to open the menu and see the categories. To adapt the map to your own preferences and interests, (de)select a category. Via Google Drive you can copy the map to your own My Google Maps account.

The map above contains more than 100 Dutch vineyards. One is more famous than the other, for example by being included/excluded in the above-mentioned book. There is still a lot to discover!

  • Purple: relatively known vineyard
  • Blue: less known vineyard
  • Orange: vineyard is closed or not yet open

Well you probably already notice; I will not get bored this summer. Plenty of plans! I still have a lot of vacation days left… Meeting friends again while enjoying a good glass of wine, I’m looking forward to it! Do you already dare to make plans for this summer? Have you ever visited Dutch vineyards? I hope this article will inspire you to visit a Dutch vineyard this year. Feel free to leave a question, additional tip or compliment below this article. Cheers!

Save a pin to this article on your Pinterest board!

Dutch vineyards for your Pinterest bucket list
Dutch vineyards for your Pinterest bucket list

Want to read more articles about wine tasting around the world? Then please go to the Wine Blog Archives.

Read more articles about The Netherlands in the Netherlands Blog Archives.


This article contains affiliate links to support this website. It does not cost you anything extra if you buy something after clicking on one of those links. Partner websites that I am affiliated with, reward me with a small commission for making useful connections between buyers and their service or product. This helps to cover the costs for this website. Consider it as a compliment for my work. For more information click here.

Last Updated on 03/27/2021 by Elisa Flitter Fever

You may also like

2 comments

Gemma Van der vegt 04/24/2021 - 12:42

Leuk om te lezen dat er zoveel goede wijnen uit Nederland komen! Ik ben dol op šŸ·ā˜ŗļø

View Comment
Reply
Flitter Fever 05/04/2021 - 07:56

Hey Gemma, ja wie had dat gedacht hĆØ?! Meer dan 100 wijngaarden in Nederland, super tof toch?! Ik ga er van de zomer in ieder geval een aantal bezoeken. Proost!

View Comment
Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

error: Content is protected !!