Apostelhoeve in the Volkskrant
Dutch wine is making its way up. And that's good news. Onno Kleyn makes an inventory during a rainy Tour d'Hollande, from Limburg, through the Betuwe to Zeeland.
First on a tasting visit to the Apostelhoeve, the country's oldest wine company. Everyone agrees: this is number one when it comes to quality. Hugo Hulst, fruit grower on the slopes near Maastricht, planted vines in 1970, four grape varieties; auxerrois, riesling, pinot gris and müller-thurgau. Three years later, he bottled his first 1400 bottles. Since then, there are more than a 100.000 bottles, from 14 hectares. ‘No, when my father started, he never imagined this,’ says son Mathieu Hulst. Day-to-day management has been in Mathieu Hulst hands for a long time now and, as the first wine family in the Netherlands, there is a contributing third generation, Hugo's grandsons Robin and Gilbert.
The Apostelhoeve is exactly what you expect from a winery. Charmingly beautiful location, rows of vines on long slopes with an old farmhouse of weathered marlstone behind it. The wine made there, I'd go blind for excellent German or Alsace. The riesling is gorgeous, the pinot gris nice and round, the auxerrois has dimension. No wonder there are prizes, gold medals, at international competitions every year. They do not participate in the Wine Competition of the Netherlands, no need to.