Vineyard
Welcome to Lar Occidentis MMXXV, a modest vineyard located at exactly 53.0847557° N, 6.6521161° E.
Nestled at the edge of the Drentsche Aa basin, Lar Occidentis lies on a gentle slope between nutrient-poor, fine sandy podzol soils and the moister, organic-rich peaty soils near the river’s historical floodplain. Our vineyard rests on humus-bearing sand with slight loamy traces - light, well-draining, and naturally acidic, which limits nutrient availability but enhances freshness in the grape. This means our vines must dig deep and work hard, drawing their character mostly from the dry austerity of the inland podzols and to a limited degree to the humid microclimate caused by the river wetlands. Rooting to around one to two meters, the vines are shaped as much by the soil’s leanness as by its quiet complexity. What emerges is not richness, but resilience - an expression of place that is modest, fresh, unmistakably northern, and part of the National Park Drentsche Aa.
Twenty-five cuttings of Cabernet Cantor on an SO 4 rootstock were planted on April 25th, 2025. Until those are ripe for harvest, the estate produces the finest hooches, which are listed below.
The name Lar Occidentis refers to the name of the area, Westlaren. A Lar is a Roman household spirit, which is also the mascot of the estate. As a highly inflected language, the conjugation occidentis (genitive third-declension noun) grammatically expresses of the west. Lar Occidentis, then, is the Household Spirit of the West. Why Latin, you ask? It reflects the quality and authenticity of the nondescript fermented substances concocted on the premises by the Venerable Archfermenter, the Supreme Hoocher. Yes, we also ferment store-bought juice. No, we’re not ashamed.
The Lar Occidentis estate is approved and recognized by no known wine authority or chamber of commerce.
Hooch batches
The lot number is the date of the start of a fermentation unless otherwise noted. It includes an index number for each fermentation vessel, if multiple.
In principle, all produced wine and hooch contains negligible amounts of fats, proteins, and salt. The wine and hooch generally contains between 75 and 95 kcal of energy per 100 ml from alcohol and residual sugars.
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L2025-07-12-1 "Cranberry Grape Mead II"
Currently resting in a carboy…
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L2025-06-08-1 "Cranberry Grape Mead"
Certified drinkable! Much better than the Bland Rosé. This is a high-alcohol, red-fruity and flowery rosé with a mead-ish mouthfeel. Arguably better than what you’d find for €3 in a supermarket. If only the smell wasn’t so foul… 6.5/10 pleasant mead-like fruity rosé.
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L2025-03-29-1 "Bland Rosé"
This first experimental batch of hooch from Lar Occidentis turned out surprisingly drinkable. It started off as a flat, acidic rosé made from store-bought grape juice, but after some time it mellowed into something drier, slightly fruity and flowery, with a touch of complexity. Notes of peach? Even so, it has a funny aftertaste, and I wouldn’t buy it in a store. 4/10 acceptable if you want to get drunk and nothing else is around.