In the spotlight: Vineyard The Crown of Texel, unique in the Wadden Islands

2K

The salty sea air and many hours of sunshine give the wines of Vineyard The Crown of Texel (Dutch: Wijngaard de Kroon van Texel) in Den Burg their own, tasty character. When I visited this vineyard I was pleasantly surprised. What a nice wine! And what a nice quirky winery! Vineyard The Crown of Texel is the most northwestern vineyard in The Netherlands. The only vineyard on the beautiful Wadden Islands. If you are going on holiday to Texel for a day, a long weekend or longer, a visit to Vineyard The Crown of Texel should not be missed. A hidden gem if you’re asking me.

The holiday feeling already starts on the boat to Texel. Texel sheep, beach, seals… and therefore also local wine. Tasty and sustainable!

Vineyard The Crown of Texel

They started here on Texel about 18 years ago. Marleen’s father came up with the first idea. Jan Jaap already had experience in floriculture. The first 500 grapevines were planted in 2005. We had to wait and see whether the plants would do well on the sandy Texel soil. And whether the vines would be able to withstand the Texel climate. The salty sea air and the wind on Texel appear to have a positive effect; they expel mold from the Vineyard The Crown of Texel

Today, Vineyard The Crown of Texel will consist of 8,500 grapevines. That yields about 1 liter of wine per plant. On Texel there is one hectare, plus two hectares near Slagharen, so a total of three hectares. There are Johanniter, Riesel, Regent and Solaris, and – if I remember correctly – also Sauvignon Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon grape plants. Ideally, they would like to have a few more hectares on Texel.

The winery and tasting room are both located on Texel, as is the two-room B&B overlooking the vineyard. Plus the home of owners Jan-Jaap, Marleen and their family. Marleen is a real Texel resident (just like my stepmother by the way) and the house and the land around it are historical family property. “As a non-islander something like this would have remained a dream without local connections,” says Jan-Jaap.

Tour vineyard Texel

Owner Jan-Jaap gives an extensive tour through the Vineyard The Crown of Texel, both the vineyard and the winery that is. I immediately recognize in him the down-to-earth North Holland mentality that I love so much. The blonde winegrower talks enthusiastically, mixed with a healthy dose of sarcasm, about the ups and downs of the vineyard. The origin, the grape varieties, the growth and flowering of the vines. The life of a Texel winegrower is a bed of roses, people work hard here! But then you have something.

Jan-Jaap explains the process of making wine between the stainless steel and oak barrels. The road to get to where they are now was also quite a process. And there is still a lot of experimentation and optimization going on. You learn by doing, so to speak. Jan-Jaap is not satisfied with “average”. Top-notch Dutch wine consultant Stan Beurskens has been brought in. And that can be tasted.

Wine tasting Texel

Of the 6,000 liters that are produced here every year, we are allowed to taste a number of glasses in the beautiful tasting room. Jamie, we like that! Three wines are named after the three children of Jan-Jaap and Marleen: Jorik, Lotte and Nora. The labels on the bottles are all beautifully designed with birds, butterflies, sheep and a Scottish Highlander. Very nice.

Jorik is my personal favourite; a dry, white wine with the fresh, fruity taste of the Johanniter grape, which makes you want more! Lotte is a semi-dry, white wine from the Reisel grape, also delicious!

Nora and Secco are the rosé wines of Vineyard The Crown of Texel. Secco has a bubble and is, in my opinion, a tasty experiment, a combination of Regent and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The red wine from Vineyard The Crown of Texel is simply called Rood (Red). It tastes so good that I take an extra bottle home with me. Unfortunately I don’t have more space in the bag, which is the disadvantage when coming by bike.

Opening hours Vineyard The Crown of Texel

The store of Vineyard The Crown of Texel is open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the sale of wine; from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays, on Saturdays until 4:30 pm. The wine of Vineyard The Crown of Texel is also for sale at a number of retailers on Texel, such as Slijterij Smidt-Witte, Slijterij Jan de Wit, Spar Kalverboer, Plus Hooijschuur, Semke Delicatexel and VOC De Kade.

During a tour you will learn more about the vineyard and the winery. Tip: book in time for a tour on the website of Vineyard The Crown of Texel. (Use Google Chrome’s functionality to translate to English.) In high season, the tour is regularly sold out, sometimes weeks in advance. Such a tour including tasting costs EUR 14 p.p. (2023) These take place from the 2nd half of May to September on Thursday and Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Our visit lasted more than 2 hours including tour and wine tasting.

In case you do not spend the night on Texel, make sure to catch the last boat to Den Helder. Ideally you will sleep well at the B&B of Vineyard The Crown of Texel itself, if available of course.

B&B Vineyard The Crown of Texel

The B&B looks great. That view of the vineyard alone! The room is nicely decorated and wonderfully spacious, including a terrace with outdoor seating. Between the two rooms is a shared kitchen with refrigerator, which of course already has a cold bottle of wine. For breakfast you can indicate what you want the night before, the choice is huge. Book your accommodation in time, because this B&B is popular. No wonder with a 9.0 rating on Booking!

Also featured in the article Wine Weekend Away: 11x stay at a Dutch vineyard.

Address Vineyard The Crown of Texel

You will find the vineyard, winery and tasting room of Vineyard The Crown of Texel at Rozendijk 32 in Den Burg. It is – without too much headwind – less than half an hour by bike (9 km) from the ferry in Den Hoorn to the Vineyard The Crown of Texel.

You can bring your own bicycles, rent them at the ferry port in Den Hoorn or rent an OV bicycle very cheaply from Den Helder station. There are also several parking spaces in case you come by car. Dogs are welcome on the vineyard, but not on the tasting room chairs please.

Are you coming by public transport? Bus 28 towards De Koog Nikadel runs from ‘t Horntje, Veerhaven in Den Hoorn in 12 minutes to the Pontweg-Rozendijk stop. From there it is about a 10 minute walk to the vineyard. See also Google Maps.

Texel day trip

We visited Vineyard The Crown of Texel as part of a day trip to Texel. It was a fairly last-minute decision and almost all accommodation was already fully booked or too pricey. So we decided to go to Texel from Alkmaar for a day. Also fine!

After arriving by boat in Den Hoorn, we went to Oudeschild by public transport bicycle. From there we crossed the island with the Texel Cruiser e-chopper. At half past four we had the tour with tasting at Vineyard The Crown of Texel in Den Burg. Very nice!

After our visit to the vineyard, we returned the e-choppers to Oudeschild. We had a delicious meal at fish restaurant ‘t Pakhuus in the harbor of Oudeschild, which has a mention in the Michelin guide. After dinner we cycled back to the boat. Once in Den Helder, we returned the public transport bicycles (‘OV-fiets’) and hopped home by train. Soon I will write another article with a more detailed description of our day trip to Texel and tips for it.

Although my most important tip is: plan in time and make it a Wine Weekend away to Texel!

Are you going to Texel soon and do you like wine? Then don’t forget to make a reservation ASAP for a tour with tasting at Vineyard The Crown of Texell! I hope you found this a fun and informative article. Feel free to leave a comment below, perhaps an additional tip if you have already been, or share this article on social media or via whatsapp with friends or family.

Don’t miss future articles like this one? Then sign up for the Flitter Fever newsletter.

On this website you will find many more articles about wine and vineyards (in The Netherlands and beyond):

1. From refugee to sommelier and movie star: Pardon Taguzu
2. Wine farm The Kleine Schorre in zeeland: irresistibly delicious wine
3. South Limburg: discover the remarkable vineyards and wineries in 1-3 days
4. Wine Weekend Getaway: 11x stay in a Dutch vineyard
5. Dutch vinyards you should put on your bucket list
6. Red Wine Therapy at Thermae 2000 in South Limburg
7. Wonderful Wineries in Stellenbosch – Africa Dream Trip part 4
8. New Zealand: Vineyard hopping at the best wineries in Blenheim, Marlborough
9. Wine tasting at Rizman Estate, Peljesac Peninsula and Makarska Riviera (Croatia)

For an overview of the vineyards in the Netherlands, check out this map.

---

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 07/01/2023 by Elisa Flitter Fever