Known for Their Love of Beer, Belgians Increasingly Warm to Wine

Belgium, land of the beer, is increasingly warming to wine.

Wine bottles by the canals of Bruges in Belgium in this file photo. Belgium’s wine industry is booming, with vineyard owners predicting 2018 to be their best year. Kevin George/Shutterstock

BRUSSELS—For Belgians, beer is a serious business. In a country with a population of just 11 million people, there are 224 breweries pumping out around 1,600 different varieties.

It is a place where bars pride themselves on the vast array of ales, wheat beers, lambics, and lagers they serve to an ever-thirsty public. Two such watering holes boast huge menus of more than 3,000 different types of tipple.