L'Ame du Vin - Huy

This work by Charles Delporte was donated by the Kiwanis on the occasion of the 20th anniversary.

It pays tribute to the winemaking history of the city of Huy , which is revived on the heights (Clos "Bois Marie" and Hautes Vignes).
This was the famous Briolet de Huy made from Saint-Laurent pinot noir.

Huy is THE historical reference for Walloon vineyards , essential. In the Middle Ages it was covered with vines even more than the other Maas cities. “At that time, the Catholic Church needed wine to celebrate Mass. We talked as much about Huy wines as about those from the Moselle or Burgundy ,” assures Alain Dirick, winemaker of Hut. But viticulture declined under the combined effect of climate change, wars, disease and competition from foreign beer and wine. “In 1944, the last Walloon winemaker disappeared.”

The vine would make its comeback twenty years later when Doctor Legot planted the oldest active vineyard in Wallonia, the Clos Bois Marie , in Huy in 1965. This super steep plot, along the Steenweg van Waremme, offers a beautiful view of the city.

Willem Vandenameele