This vineyard is operated by Wijndomein Heerenhuys der Pley. The vineyard is located on a south-west facing slope of the upper part of the Noordal in the hamlet of Bergenhuizen. The name refers to a former dumping ground for the remains of wood burning.
There is a solid layer of loess on this site, more than one meter thick. Below are beautiful silica rocks from the Hoogcruts formation, which quickly transitions in this area to the mixed gravel package from the Simpelveld formation. This is typical for this upper part of the Noordal. Below this, at a depth of approximately four meters, but easily accessible for the selected grapes, lies the limestone that is so unique to Noorbeek, the Gulpener chalk.
This combination with the firm slope creates an extremely suitable terroir for producing sparkling wines. That is why we chose 800 sticks of Chardonnay, 400 sticks of Pinot Noir and 400 sticks of Pinot Meunier. By focusing the planting specifically on the southwest, the focus is mainly on quality and not quantity. The choice of sparkling wine completes the wine range in Noorbeek.
When you walk through vineyards in France, Italy or Spain, you sometimes see rose bushes planted in a vineyard. Do winegrowers do this for aesthetic reasons or is there another explanation?
Early warning Yes, there is a reason behind this. The rose bush is planted at the end of rows as a kind of warning system for the winegrower. They attract insects such as aphids to the vines. But a rose bush is also susceptible to fungi and gets fungal diseases such as black rot and mildew before the vines. We now know that the type of mildew that roses are susceptible to is not the same as vines, but if the conditions are good for mildew on roses, you can be sure that they are also good for downy mildew on vines. So as soon as a winegrower sees that the rose is sick, he or she can immediately start combating the fungus before the vines are affected. (False) mildew
But what are these fungi? For example, there is mildew and false mildew that are dangerous for the growth of the leaves and the grapes. In spring and early summer, the grapevine is very sensitive to false mildew. This attacks the chlorophyll and forms yellowish spots on the leaves. Because the green is affected, the grape cannot grow as well and the grapes will also develop poorly. Mildew occurs mainly in summer with warm and humid weather and forms a white or grey mould haze on the plant and on the skins of the grapes. The taste of the grape deteriorates drastically and in the worst case the entire harvest is lost.
Combating fungi As a winegrower, you cannot just spray away to protect your grapes against all kinds of fungi and diseases. There are strict rules for the substances that may be used, as well as how often and how much may be sprayed. If you are an organic winegrower, you are allowed to use even less.
Translated by Google •
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