Successful first harvest at Colruyt Group's vineyard

Monday, September 29, 2025

The first harvest at Colruyt Group’s vineyard in Frasnes-Lez-Anvaing has been completed successfully. Over four days of picking, around 12,000 kg of grapes were harvested from the different varieties. The yield from this first harvest is expected to produce about 10,000 bottles of Belgian white wine, which the Group plans to offer in spring 2026.With this initiative, Colruyt Group is responding to growing consumer demand for Belgian organic wine and expanding its cool climate wine range from own production, reinforcing its reputation as a wine specialist.

Excellent harvest from the oldest vines

The dry and warm weather of the past year resulted in grapes of outstanding quality. This year, on the 10 ha vineyard, only 4 ha of white grape varieties from the oldest vines — Solaris, Muscaris, Johanniter and Souvignier Gris — at the ‘La Croisette’ site were harvested. “The quality of the grapes this year is exceptional,” says Jean-Christophe Verschelde, wine expert at Colruyt Group and amateur winemaker. “Because the growing cycle started about two weeks earlier than usual, we have excellent sugar accumulation in the grapes, built up through the leaves. The warm yet relatively mild summer allowed the sap flow that drives grape ripening to develop well over the summer. The phenolic structure also developed nicely during this period,” Jean-Christophe adds. The harvest of the four varieties was spread over four days, with the first taking place in mid-August and the last at the end of September. The first harvest yielded 12,000 kg of hand-picked white grapes.

Manual harvest with local support

For the picking, Colruyt Group worked with local organisations and occasionally with colleagues who volunteered to help. The harvest is done manually by a team of about 25 people. “The team starts the picking day between 6 and 7 a.m., depending on sunrise. Pickers work row by row, cutting the ripest and healthiest bunches, placing them in crates that are collected by tractor and trailer and then stored in the refrigerated truck,” explains Jean-Christophe Verschelde. Once the entire plot is harvested, the refrigerated truck takes the grapes to Vivardent’s external winemaking cellar. ​ For this first harvest, Colruyt Group partnered with Vivardent to vinify the grapes. From next year onwards, the Group plan to build our own winemaking cellar.

First bottles expected in 2026

In the cellar, the grapes undergo fermentation, followed by natural clarification to remove impurities before being bottled in spring. The first bottles of Belgian white wine will be brought to market in spring 2026. These first bottles will be Belgian but not yet organically certified, as the vineyard is still in conversion.