Food and Drink Heroes of Enschede #4
I happened upon Hof van Twente Wijn quite by accident one cold February afternoon as I decided to take the scenic route home after an unsuccessful house-viewing, a story for another day. As you drive into Bentelo, a small Dutch village in the rich, green Twente countryside, the landscape transforms as row upon row of beautiful vines stretch across the horizon.
Husband and wife team, Ilse and Roelof Visscher were early pioneers in the Dutch wine industry, sourcing, planting and nurturing vines in this somewhat challenging temperate climate.
After choosing German varieties which do not require quite as much sun as perhaps those more common in warmer climates, Ilse and Roelof initially planted 12 acres of vines over three vineyards. Now, over twenty years later, they see an annual production of 25,000 litres of wine with just a little left over for some delicious port.
White wine varieties:
Johanniter – Essentially a German Reisling, dry and fruity with cleansing hints of apple and citrus flavours.
Solaris – Rather like a Muscat with more complex tropical flavours.
Red Wine varieties:
Regent – Again a German grape variety, which is described as a cross between US Sinso and French Cinsault. A little spicy. I tried a 2018 which is considered to be a very good vintage, so good in fact that the Regent Barrique Reserve 2018 won a gold medal in the PWI International Wine Award.
Sueterie Rood Select – A blend of Regent & Pinstin.
Both red wine varieties are aged in French oak barrels for between 10 and 12 months
Awards
Where to buy and find Twente wine
Order Twente Wijn directly from the company’s own website
Alternatively:
Slijterij Berendsen: the largest specialist alcohol store in east Netherlands, found in the centre of Enschede, but also online and the subject of one of my previous articles
De Heren Catering: a catering company based in Enschede who aim to offer a total experience by offering catering, lighting, tents, furniture and of course food and wine. At the centre piece of this tailor-made event, whether in your home, your workplace or in a number of various locations across the region, sits absolutely delicious food all beautifully complemented by an excellent wine list where you can find a selection of wines from the Boekelo vineyard.
Streekmarkt Twente: an excellent farmers market held on the first Saturday of each month in the historic and beautiful town of Delden. Stop there for wine, artisan bread, cheese, meat, jam, eggs and much more.
OR
If you want to couple your wine purchase with some amazing quality meat, you can place an order for both wine and meat from Van Onze Boer an online company delivering meat of the highest quality right to your doorstep. They feature a wide range of ‘wild’ meat, or game: venison, hare, wild boar, roe deer and duck.
Lastly, you can pop along and visit the vineyard, book a tasting session, book a tour around the vineyard, book a room for a party and join them for a meal, or go along to the annual Open Day as we did earlier this autumn and soak up the atmosphere, complete with Dixieland Jazz! This really is Dutch wine at its best!
Click below to read about more # Food and Drink Heroes of Enschede
Vishandel Klijnstra – Where to buy the best fresh fish
Hammiehoeve – Amazing free-range eggs
Slijterij Berendsen – All you need to know about whisky, wine and much, much more
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