Our vineyard is located on sloping land in Langeveen, on the German border, called the Mandjesberg. Searching for a use for this land, it became clear that the special soil conditions, caused by the Esker, would be extremely suitable for growing grapes. Thus the idea for Vineyard de Mandjesberg was born.
An Esker or meltwater ridge is a hill in the landscape or underground caused by meltwater under an ice sheet, such as a glacier. The mound consists of clay loam and coarse sand mixed with gravel and boulders that were small enough to be carried by the water. This mixture ensures that the soil retains moisture while also having a good drainage capacity, making it ideally suited for growing several grape varieties. In the Netherlands, an Esker is a very rare phenomenon.
Under the guidance of winemaker Roelof Visscher of Neerlands Wijnmakerij in Bentelo, the leap of faith was taken and the first 7000 plants were planted in May 2021. The choice to use this land to grow grapes proved to be the right one; amazing to see how quickly the plants grew and a beautiful vineyard was created within a few months!
So the decision to expand was quickly made; another 5,000 grape plants were planted in April 2022. In autumn 2022, the first grapes were harvested and in the winery run by and in close cooperation with Roelof Visscher and his team, we have several fine wines produced under the name Eskerwijn.
