peer reviewed ; In Belgium, vineyards have strongly increased over the last decades. Is it a trendy effect, or is Belgium becoming an increasingly favourable country for viticulture? A related issue is whether Belgium is similar to another French region from a climatic point of view. To address these questions, we use here the regional climate model MAR to provide high-resolution (5 km) climate information over the territory of Belgium and the north-eastern quarter of France. We first evaluate MAR outputs from a climate point of view against more than 150 weather stations and then from a viticulture point of view by computing bioclimatic indices, as well as key phenological dates and frost risk. The second step consists in comparing the four northernmost French wine regions (Champagne, Bourgogne, Jura and Alsace) with the Belgian wine region. MAR simulations are generally consistent with the observation, especially for the dates of the main phenological stages of the vine. Simulations of a frost risk in spring, heat stress in summer and Huglin’s heliothermal index show slightly more disagreement, but biases remain moderate. The Belgium wine region appears to be quite comparable to the Champagne and Jura regions, despite colder conditions that influence its bioclimatic indices. Under current climate conditions, the main risk for Belgian vines is frost after bud break. ; 13. Climate action ; 15. Life on land