Eat, Drink
Oenophiles mustn’t miss the Amsterdam Wine Festival, 16-18 March at Westergasfabriek.
26 | text: Karin Engelbrecht
Popping Up: Wine Bars W
ith new wine bars popping up like so many champagne corks, Amsterdam’s oenophiles now have twice the options they had just one year ago. Popular are places that offer well-priced premium wines (see below); specialist wine bars like cava bar Xampanyeria Centra, sherry
and manzanilla bar El Hermano de Kique, champagnerias Five Brothers Fat and Hennequin & To, and French-focused Le Baravin; vin naturel bars like Café Binnenvisser and Bar Centraal; and coffee/wine hybrids such as Bar Bateau and Rayleigh & Ramsay. Here are a few of our recent favourites:
Winehouse SOMM
Shiraz
Owned by Sascha Holzkämper (ex-Maître sommelier at Beluga** in Maastricht), this De Baarsjes-based bar is a wine snob’s paradise, but you’ll also find affordable choices by the glass. And, with bites like panseared scallops, or cauliflower cream and samphire, there’s something for foodies, too.
With a 140-strong selection, including 23 100% Shiraz wines, this “wine garden” in the Leidseplein area has plenty to offer, including sweet and savoury bites from around the wine world (the tarte tatin is terrific), a canal-facing terrace and a wine boutique. LIJNBAANSGRACHT 267 SHIRAZAMSTERDAM.NL
BAFFINSTRAAT 1 WINEHOUSESOMM.NL
4850
Alex+Pinard
This Swedish-owned establishment in East serves smørrebrød and specialty coffee by day. By night, it serves premium (mostly natural) wines − many by the glass, including six champagnes − from a floorto-ceiling wine chamber, and over 20 Belgian lambic beers.
On the doorstep of the Dappermarkt, Amsterdam’s most diverse day market, there’s a casual wine bar that offers a wide range of (organic) wines sourced from small wineries at an accessible price, plus good charcuterie platters. DAPPERSTRAAT 10 ALEXPINARD.NL
CAMPERSTRAAT 48-50 4850.NL
IAMSTERDAM MAGAZINE