Belgian sparkling wines get more and more recognition internationally as shown by a record of five gold medals won at the annual international contest “Effervescents du monde” which took place for the 21st time in early December in the heart of Beaujolais region in France.
Belgium produces annually 2m bottles of sparkling wine, which represents half of the country’s wine production.
Three Belgian winemakers confirm their previous awards, among 470 wines from 19 countries this year: Ruffus (Grand Millésime 2019), Chant d’Eole (Brut Réserve Grand Cru 2018) and Entre-Deux-Monts (Wiscoutre blanc de blancs brut).
The first two are from Hainault (Wallonia) and by far the biggest producers of sparkling wine in Belgium. Entre-Deux-Monts is from Heuvelland, between Ypres and the French border, is the biggest sparkling wine producer in Flanders.
Newcomer gets the gold at first participation
Monts des Anges, located south of Mons, between Ruffus and Chant d’Eole, surprised the jury and scooped two gold medals for its Brut 2021 and its exceptional Blanc de Meuniers 2021, a wine made exclusively from red grapes from a single vineyard.
The domain was started in 2016 by a Belgian entrepreneur, Vincent Debusscher, in association with Laurianne Lejour, a winemaker from Champagne.
They produce only sparkling wines from traditional champagne grapes cultivated through integrated pest management. They are only available at selected wineshops such as: Oenostock (Lasne), Vinicoles Leloup (Bousval) and Rob’s Gourmet Market (Brussels).
