DOMAINE BELLUM FAGETUM

About DOMAINE BELLUM FAGETUM

Domaine Bellum Fagetum is a Belgian cooperative vineyard located on the heights of Liège, between Beaufays and Embourg. It is built around a community of more than 1,100 cooperators and a shared-governance model with eight decision-making committees, combining wine production with a social and participatory project.

The estate currently cultivates 8 hectares of vines on a site with a total potential of 15 hectares. It focuses on white and sparkling wines made from resistant grape varieties adapted to the Belgian climate, with an emphasis on quality, terroir expression, and a viticulture approach that is described as reasoned and environmentally respectful.

Core Values

• Sharing and conviviality: The domaine presents wine as a way to bring people together around a common project, with a strong focus on encounters, convivial moments, and collective participation.
• Social commitment: Bellum Fagetum describes itself as a social project, with initiatives involving integration support, collaboration with local social services, and educational outreach to schools.
• Environmental responsibility: The vineyard follows agroecological principles, uses resistant grape varieties, and promotes biodiversity through hedges, grass cover, and other nature-friendly practices.
• Independence and participation: The cooperative model is designed to keep the project independent, with members involved in decisions and financing coming from cooperators and private loans rather than institutional banks.

Unique Aspects

• Large cooperative base: The domaine brings together more than 1,100 cooperators and over 2,038 shares, giving it a strongly participatory ownership structure.
• Shared governance: The project is organized around eight decision-making committees, and cooperators who wish to do so can take part in the governance of the estate.
• Social finality: Bellum Fagetum is presented as a cooperative with a social purpose, with 94% of future distributable profits intended to be reinvested in social causes.
• Distinctive terroir and site: The vineyard is located on a plateau at 270 meters altitude with clay-loam and schist soils, full sun exposure, and strong ventilation, overlooking Liège.
• Independent financing model: The project is financed through cooperative shares and private loans, and the site is secured through a 40-year emphyteutic lease with an option to buy and a right of preemption.