It’s a beautiful walk down a tree-lined lane to St. Catherine’s Monastery. Almost 700 years ago, seven daughters were given permission to join the Order of Prémontré. The location of the monastery changed several times throughout the centuries, until 1647 when they moved to their present location in Oosterhout. In 1954, the sisters began restoring and preserving antique books to generate income. The economic downfall in 2008 seriously affected the income from their book work. In 2012, the sisters declared they would stay at the monastery, and they would stay there together, but they needed a new source of income. They decided to start a vineyard on the property, and after developing a business plan, the community supported them. All the sisters voted on decisions throughout the process, in order to stay true to who they are as Norbertine sisters.
We were welcomed by Sister Maria Magdalena. 
In addition to the vineyard, the sisters also started a guesthouse. There are 14 rooms that can be used for retreats and other events.
Sister Norberta joyfully led our tour of the property. After lunch we attended service in this chapel.
The vineyard was planted in 2015, and last year was their first harvest. They grow six different varietals, and bottled 11,000 bottles of white wine their first year. On Saturday they release this year’s wine, and have grown to 55,000 bottles.
The roses at the ends of the rows signal when something is wrong with the grape vines. 
In addition to the vineyard, they tend beautiful gardens. 
The bag design was inspired by the sisters’ habits. 
They saved us some of last year’s wine to sample.
What inspiring entrepreneurs! The roses at the end of the rows was an interesting tidbit I’ve never heard before. Do the roses wilt if there’s an issue? Keep the pics coming! Also, how’s the weather over there? Rumor has it you might be near some record heat!
I’m not sure if they wilt, but they’re more sensitive, so any issues with the vines show up first in the roses. The first day in Amsterdam was really warm, but we’ve had beautiful mid-70s since then. Tomorrow is supposed to be near 90 degrees – luckily we haven’t had the 100 degree weather yet. Thanks for following along!