Wijngoed Thorn

The Netherlands

"Actually, this region is more and more comparable to the Moselle, Luxembourg and Alsace regions."

Thorn, the white town

Thorn is a historic town located in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is known for its whitewashed buildings and houses and is therefore also nicknamed 'The White Town'. Thorn has a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages. Its narrow streets, beautiful facades and historic buildings all add to the town's charm.

While visiting friends who live in the region, on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium, we could not resist the temptation to visit Wijngoed Thorn. The tasting room of this winery is not to be missed when walking through Thorn and obviously benefits from the town's appeal to tourists from its own country, as well as from Germany and Belgium.

A historical treasure

The history of viticulture in this part of central Limburg dates back to the Middle Ages. In those days Thorn was a small principality, where everything revolved around the abbey. It was already built in the tenth century and the monastery was inhabited by noblewomen.

That there was already quite a bit of viticulture in the region at that time is now common knowledge. The square in the middle of Thorn is named 'De Wingerd' (The Vine) and used to be the convent's garden. Unfortunately, winegrowing also came to an end here and it took until around 1970 before winegrowing was revived in Limburg.

From professional musician to winemaker in Limburg

Harry Vorselen played in the Radio Symfonic Orchestra as first French horn player but suffered a muscle disorder around his lips. This fate forced him to look for another way to live his life. A piece of land in the Meuse valley that was already in his family's possession offered a solution and he and his wife Mieke decided to plant some vines in 2001.

With the construction of these vineyard(s) just outside the town of Thorn also came the need for more education. Together with Karel Henckens of nearby Belgian Wijndomein Aldeneyck, he took a viticultural course in Germany. This is also reflected in some of the grape varieties planted such as Riesling, Dornfelder and Frühburgunder (an early maturing Pinot Noir).

PDO Maasvallei Limburg

After the first harvest in 2004, the vineyard prospered and more vines were planted. Nowadays Wijngoed Thorn has over seven hectares of vineyards with Auxerrois, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir in addition to the aforementioned varieties.

A tasting room with wine store was established in the historic white town and in 2018 the quality seal 'PDO Maasvallei Limburg' was awarded by the European Commission. This is extra special because it is the first cross-border wine appellation in Europe. This is because it involves wines produced on both the Dutch and Belgian sides of the Meuse River.

Harry and Mieke prefer quality over quantity and therefore do not pursue maximum yields per vine. The white wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks, the Pinot Noir and Dornfelder are also aged in oak barrels. They also make a Traditional Method  Pinot Brut of Pinot Noir and Auxerrois. If you're in the area, like us, we would definitely consider a visit to Wijngoed Thorn's tasting room and store.