An Oenophile’s Guide to Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

My favourite moment of the day is somewhere around 6.30 pm, when work is finished, it’s not yet time for dinner, and the kitchen is filled with the familiar glug-glug-glug sound of a just-opened bottle of wine being poured. If I’m at home, it’ll perhaps be accompanied by some cheese and crackers or slices of chorizo; if I’m out, it might be bitterballen or jamón. Either way, this first-glass-of-wine-meets-early-evening-snacks moment has a name in our house: Hapje Hour - which, incidentally, will be the name of my wine bar if the Mr. Foodie and I ever open one.

Either way, this first-drink-of-the-day meets early-evening snacks moment has a name in our house: Hapje Hour

More and more Amsterdam wine bars are starting to offer shareable bites with a selection of wines by the glass, and the quality and inventiveness of the food is going up in parallel. At the same time, Amsterdam’s wine shops are understanding that consumers want more than a cheap tipple, and are starting to offer great advice about wine pairings, wine styles and more.

Some of my favourite physical wine stores in Amsterdam include Wine & Roses and Wijnhandel van Krimpen in De Pijp, Cave de l’Est in Oost, Bilderdijk Wijnhuys in West, Hart’s Wijnhandel in the centre, and Vindict Wine with locations in the Jordaan and Noord. More and more Amsterdam wine shops are starting to stock Dutch wines as well - interesting to try! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).