The wine ridge (Haillicourt, France)
Uh, a wine terril ? Few will know it or even believe it, but on the former waste, grit and rock debris that comes from coal mines and was piled up on hills in what is called a slag heap , one can plant vineyards and make delicious wine with it. Not at all far-fetched: just go to Haillicourt in northern France. There they make the so-called "Charbonnay." The 2,000 Chardonnay vines were planted on a terril in 2011. This slag heap is part of the Douai-Lens mining basin that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Charbonnay wine was not previously available in the normal trade: indeed, the bottles were all reserved for the employees and the many volunteers of the estate. Since 2018, bottles have now been sold freely. The question, of course, is where to find them (since only a total of a thousand or so bottles are made each year). Price would be around 45-50 €/bottle.
This initiative demonstrates well what is possible from reconversion with old mining sites. The idea has already been floated of starting vineyards on other terrils as well.
Visitor tips for the wine aisle
Tip: The wine estate cannot be visited. Be sure to explore an authentic terril that is not off limits. There are several that have been made accessible to the general public. Nice example is the double terril in Loos-en-Gohelle: the highest in Europe!
Geographical information for the wine ridge
Geographical information
Address: Rue des Fauvettes, Haillicourt, Hauts-de-France, France
Geographical coordinates:
- Google Maps: Latitude = 50.4805735 - Longitude = 2.5800289
- Open Street Maps: Latitude = 50.480574 - Longitude = 2.580029
- Altitude h = 71 m
Indication of De wijnterril on:
Tourist map of Top.Vlaanderen - Google Maps - OpenStreetMap.
Route to De wijnterril: Route via Google Maps
7°C
| Day | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
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Today
22:00
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partly cloudy
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8° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 16 Km/h | 92 % | 1019 mb |
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Tomorrow
22:00
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 cloudy
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7° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 18 Km/h | 91 % | 1019 mb |
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Mon Jan 26
10:00 p.m.
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partly cloudy
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6° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 16 Km/h | 84 % | 1018 mb |
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Tue Jan 26
10:00 p.m.
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 very light cloud cover
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8° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 23 Km/h | 89 % | 1018 mb |
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Wed Jan 26
10:00 p.m.
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very light cloud cover
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7° | 9°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 32 Km/h | 88 % | 1013 mb |
| Hour | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
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Today
10:00
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cloudy
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8° | 8°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 14 Km/h | 92 % | 1014 mb |
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Today
13:00
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cloudy
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9° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 10 Km/h | 88 % | 1016 mb |
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Today
16:00
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partly cloudy
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10° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 8 Km/h | 83 % | 1017 mb |
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Today
19:00
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partly cloudy
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9° | 9°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 14 Km/h | 89 % | 1018 mb |
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Today
22:00
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cloudy
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8° | 8°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 16 Km/h | 92 % | 1019 mb |
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Tomorrow
01:00
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cloudy
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9° | 9°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 16 Km/h | 91 % | 1019 mb |
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Tomorrow
04:00
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cloudy
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9° | 9°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 15 Km/h | 86 % | 1019 mb |
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Tomorrow
07:00
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cloudy
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9° | 9°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 18 Km/h | 87 % | 1018 mb |
HR and HDR photos across the wine aisle
Photos from Aug. 1, 2023:
