Best news of the day: this wine importer is now open to private customers too
I’ve just received the very best wine news in ages: one of the wine importers that has been supplying dozens of fantastic restaurants in the Netherlands with wine for almost twenty-five years, Karakter Wijnimport, is now open to private customers too! Do you know what that means?! A whole lot of top wines, from affordable bottles to luxury wines, delivered straight to your home…
I’m already extremely lucky, by the way, because the Karakter Wijnen tasting room-cum-warehouse-cum-total candy store for people like me is within cycling distance of my home in Amsterdam Noord. That means I can drop in there (just a little too) easily at any moment to have a sip of something new (“taste”, yeah right) and then load it into my bike crate.
Ding dong, the postman with your wine treasures
They deliver too, of course, so you can go as wild as you like. Even if you’re on a modest budget, this is the place to find wines that are more interesting than what you’d get at the supermarket for the same price. And fancy treating yourself to a special evening, perhaps with just one bottle, but a really good one? With wines from more than two hundred different winemakers in stock (which adds up to over one hundred thousand bottles), there’s bound to be something to your taste.
Everyone can discover what they like
They’ll soon be starting tastings and courses that you can sign up for; keep an eye on the website. Or, if you get the chance, stop by on the Grasweg in Amsterdam-Noord and feast your eyes on row after row of shelves filled with delicious wines. Bet you won’t manage to go home empty-handed? On the other side of the IJ, you can also visit their shop Wijnkoperij Europa on the Spaarndammerstraat.
Short lines
Of course, there are plenty of wine shops, but the great thing about this business is that you deal directly with the importer. They sell hardly any wine that they haven’t tasted themselves at the producer’s, and whose vineyard they therefore don’t know personally. As a result, their advice is always first-hand—and excellent.
Industrial gem
When you arrive by car or bike, your first thought isn’t exactly ‘oh, how cosy’, but when you walk around the warehouse in this former industrial area, you’ll come across a true gem: a fantastic terrace with atmospheric lighting right on the IJ. Here you can taste the most delicious wines while enjoying expansive views over the rippling water, and if you’re incredibly lucky, they’ll also put some excellent bread, local cheeses and Brandt & Levie sausages on the table: amazing!
So don’t hesitate: stop by or browse the online shop under ‘private customers’, and a heartfelt SANTÉ! Here’s the website: Karakter Wijnimport/Wijnkoperij Europa.
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