The Oud Conynsbergh winery has started harvesting grapes earlier than ever. ‘Thanks to the fine weather, we are 2 to 3 weeks ahead of schedule. We are now picking the grapes for our sparkling wines,’ explains Kris Van de Sompel. Oud Conynsbergh wants to focus even more than ever on the production of sparkling wines.
‘We will be picking grapes for our sparkling wines all week. This morning at 6 a.m., we started with the Pinot Auxerrois in our vineyard in Vremde. The harvest started on 2 September, which is two to three weeks earlier than in other years,’ says Kris Van de Sompel, managing director of the Oud Conynsbergh winery in Boechout (Antwerp Province).
The reason for the early harvest is the sunny weather in 2025. ‘Thanks to a dry spring and a good summer, the grapes look better and healthier than ever. 2025 seems set to become a vintage year. For the first time since 2020, we will even be able to make a still red wine from Pinot Noir grapes,’ says Van de Sompel.
After a disastrous year in 2024, a good harvest is more than welcome for Oud Conynsberg. ‘Last year, we produced barely 4,000 litres of wine compared to 40,000 in a normal year,’ says Van de Sompel. ‘In two to three weeks, we will start harvesting the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Auxerrois for our range of still white and red wines.’
A sparkling future
Oud Conynsbergh has decided to focus more and more on the production of high-quality sparkling wines in future. Bubbles, in other words, made according to the traditional method used in the Champagne region of France. ‘That is where the future of Flemish viticulture lies. We can produce high quality,’ says Van de Sompel.
The result of the grapes picked this week will not be ready to taste until 2030 at the earliest. ‘Our sparkling wines are left to rest in the bottle for a long time. We also pick those grapes earlier in the season than the others. We are looking for fine acids and want to preserve the fraîcheur, the freshness’ says Van de Sompel. The regular white and red wines from the 2025 harvest will gradually appear on the market from next year onwards.
The Oud Conynsbergh winery was established in 2014 and has 16 hectares of vineyards. Ten hectares are already in use, with an additional three hectares to be added in both 2026 and 2027.