Record year for Belgian wine production in 2025

Belgium’s wine sector reached an all-time high in 2025, with production rising by 25% compared to the previous record year in 2023, the Federal Public Service Economy reports.. Total output climbed to 4.3 million litres, driven largely by strong growth in red wine and sparkling white wine. At the same time, both the number of winegrowers and the total vineyard area hit record levels, with plantings exceeding 1,000 hectares for the first time and the number of producers rising to 350.

Following extremely poor weather conditions in 2024, when production dropped to just 1.2 million litres, the sector rebounded sharply in 2025. The harvest reached 4.3 million litres, up from 3.4 million litres in 2023. 

This increase is largely attributed to favourable weather conditions. In addition, many younger vines are now reaching maturity: vines typically produce limited yields in their early years and only achieve full productivity after around five years, suggesting that output could continue to grow in the coming years.

Wallonia leads production despite smaller vineyard area

Wine production increased in both Flanders and Wallonia, with Wallonia producing significantly more wine (2.44 million litres) than Flanders (1.83 million litres), despite having a smaller vineyard area. Flanders accounts for 551 hectares of vineyards, compared to 490 hectares in Wallonia.

“The difference in production lies in focus: Wallonia strongly prioritises sparkling wine, which generally yields more per hectare because grape growers can plant vines twice as densely (around 10,000 vines per hectare). In Flanders, production is more diverse and the share of still wines is higher. Notably, a meaningful quantity of orange wine has also emerged for the first time. This is a wine made in the same way as red wine but using white grapes. Production remains modest at around 10,000 litres, and for now only Flemish winegrowers declare orange wine separately. Walloon producers are also experimenting with it, but tend to classify it as white wine”, said Lien Meurisse, spokesperson for the Federal Public Service Economy.

The strongest regional growth was recorded in Wallonia, with the provinces of Luxembourg (+284%), Walloon Brabant (+85%) and Namur (+58%) leading the way.

In contrast, production in Limburg declined slightly (-2%), while Antwerp recorded a modest increase (+6%), closely followed by Hainaut (+8%). Across other provinces, growth ranged between 10% and 44%. Despite relatively limited growth, Hainaut remains by far the largest producer, with 956,730 litres.

Growth was recorded across most wine categories, except for rosé (-6%) and sparkling rosé (-33%). Producers are clearly focusing on their core products, with red wine (+78%), white wine (+18%) and sparkling white wine (+29%) continuing to dominate Belgian production.

Number of winegrowers and vineyard area continues to rise

The number of Belgian winegrowers has increased steadily in recent years. In 2025, 350 producers were registered, up from 321 in 2024 and 290 in 2023. This includes both professional winemakers and hobbyists.

The strongest growth was once again seen in Flanders, where 43 new winegrowers started operations, compared to 17 in Wallonia. West Flanders led the way with 15 new producers. The overall distribution remained largely unchanged, with 64% of winegrowers based in Flanders and 36% in Wallonia.

A similar trend is visible in vineyard expansion. In 2025, a total of 1,040 hectares were planted with vines, up from 958 hectares in 2024 and 891 hectares in 2023.

Chardonnay remains the most widely planted and most productive grape variety in Belgium, accounting for 1,298,119 litres of production. The top three is completed by the Chardonnay–Pinot Meunier–Pinot Noir blend (383,424 litres) and Pinot Noir (339,512 litres).

At the same time, disease-resistant interspecific varieties are gaining ground. The top 10 now includes Johanniter (just outside the top three with 334,342 litres), as well as Souvignier Gris, Solaris, Muscaris and Regent. These varieties are more resistant to diseases and fungi, reducing the need for plant protection products.