The tricolor is flown the wrong way round all across France: Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Loire, the Languedoc, the Rhone, Provence, Beaujolais and the South West, where the language of the wine is definitely Dutch. Forty-four winemakers of Dutch nationality have settled here, ranging from famous and prestigious Bordeaux chateaux to humble, small family holdings. Ger Bouten, a retired journalist specialising in wine, took time to track them all down, and the result is this new, attractive book – in which Rives-Blanques occupies the centrefold.
Over 2.5 million Dutchmen leave their country annually and flock to France for the holidays. Taken in that perspective, forty-four expatriate Dutch winemakers does not seem a huge amount. Some come from agricultural backgrounds, some are bone fide oenologists, but many are driven by the passion of a second career.
