Grapedistrict 3.0

Wine shop Grapedistrict is growing up. Mature is actually a better word. The days of cheerful colors are over. After ten years of well-considered rebellion, it now radiates calm and consistency. Well, on the surface at least, because behind the scenes they are working harder than ever.

‘It’s just like a real wine shop,’ I think upon entering their flagship store on Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat in Amsterdam. Gijs Groenevelt – one of the three ‘rebels’ from back then – is waiting for me. He fits in with this setting. He, too, has lost his wild hair.

Relaxing among wine

The wine shop that, ten years ago, was one of the first to distance itself from the intimidating world of wine shops has shed its colorful plumage. The showing off seems to be over. What emerges is a place in a loungy style. With stylish lighting, a sofa, bar stools and a kind of sunken lounge area turned upside down, with wine magazines to read. Naturally, there is plenty of wine all around it. But they no longer shout for attention; they entice you.

Because for Grapedistrict, wine is simply delicious and fun, and nothing more

Ten years on

The three Grapedistrict men – alongside Gijs Groenevelt, Freek Padberg and Joost Bockwinkel – are anything but relaxing with a good glass of wine themselves (something about foxes, hair and losing one’s tricks, probably). In those ten years, they have grown from one to thirteen locations and supply festivals and restaurants on a regular basis. With the webshop – full of delightful background information – they serve the whole of the Netherlands. And for the truly lazy, there is even a wine box containing six different wines, delivered to your home every month.

Taste test

But there was room for more. Such as an online taste test. According to Groenevelt, the test makes choosing your favorite wine even easier. And if you subsequently rate that wine positively on their website (up to five stars), you are immediately matched with similar wines that others also rate highly. A little Big Brother, but useful. An easy way to broaden your wine horizons. Just be careful not to choose only creamy oaky wine from then on, simply because your first one happened to be like that. And as a committed wine-and-food enthusiast, I do miss the gastronomic angle a little. Because a wine – no matter how delicious – does not taste equally good with everything. Still, it is nice when there is something left to wish for.

Simply delicious and fun

In short, they are doing great things there. Perhaps a different outfit, a different tie. But still pleasantly accessible. And with the same boyish bravado, they are hatching new ideas and innovative developments. They are constantly hunting for young winemakers and their delicious wines. Because for Grapedistrict, wine is simply delicious and fun, and nothing more. I completely agree with that.

Grapedistrict Flagshipstore
Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat 62
Amsterdam

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