The Winery Marquis du Souverain of Luxembourg

Discovering the wine region of Luxembourg

Luxembourg (officially the 'Grand Duchy of Luxembourg') is a landlocked nation at the junction of Belgium, Germany and France. It is a small country in comparison to its neighbors, extending just 80km (50 miles) North to South and 50km (30 miles) west to east, it covers just over 2,500 square kilometers (960sq miles). Only 1 percent of this is given over to viticulture. Located in the north of Western Europe, this is one of the world's cooler wine regions.

In the north of the country, the rolling Ardennes hills and forests dominate the topography. Forest accounts for a third of the land in the country and the north is sparsely populated. The vast majority of Luxembourg’s 620,000 people live in the southern half of the country. Wine production in Luxembourg has been in gentle decline since the late 1990s, with annual production currently sitting around 80,000 hectoliters (8 million liters or 2.

1 million US gallons). Winemaking is centered on the southeastern portion of Luxembourg where the Mosel river (known as the Moselle) forms the national border with Germany. The Luxembourg Moselle - a 40km (25 mile) stretch of the riverbank - is not as steep as the German Mosel and has fewer south-orientated vineyards. Wine production is typically focused on white Grape varieties led by Rivaner (Müller-Thurgau), Elbling, Auxerrois, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc.