In the spotlight
Sandra from De Wijnkaart
Another place that opened during lockdown and brought some well needed magic to Amsterdam, is De Wijnkaart. Not only do they have an amazing wine list, but they also offer a great food menu and wine tastings (Yes; even in lockdown! If you haven’t tried their online wine tastings yet, Do it! NOW!).
Q: In a few sentences, tell us about De Wijnkaart.
A: De Wijnkaart is a different type of wine bar, offering a fine selection of Eastern-European wines paired with home-style inspired international food.
We are a team of young professionals who have worked in the hospitality industry for many years and we would like to introduce our guests to a different side of the wine world. The "forgotten wine countries" where actually the history of wine making has started, countries like Georgia, Romania, Moldova have amazing products to offer.
Q: What about You personally, why are you working with this? What's your story?
A: I was born in Romania and I live in the Netherlands for 15 years now. I studied Hospitality Management at Hotelschool The Hague in Amsterdam and I did my first internship as an F&B trainee at The Dylan Hotel in Amsterdam. The second internship was in the Finance department at the citizenM hotel chain and as much as I loved the job, I realised that working in an office was not for me.
Later I have worked in different restaurants in Amsterdam and took my energy from offering guests the best experience. I soon decided that I wanted to open my own restaurant but I wasn't sure about the concept until my friend Florin (right in the picture) from Romania moved to The Netherlands. Florin and I are both wine passionates and together we discovered that Eastern European wines were very difficult to find in Amsterdam. We found a hole in the market. Together with my business partner who is now more active on the background, we decided to take this opportunity and open De Wijnkaart in Amsterdam Zuid.
Florin had already experience working with Eastern European wine and he became our Sommelier. He critically selects the best wines and wineries from Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Greece and Georgia to add to our wine list. Mariano on the left is our chef from Argentina and Celia on the right does both service and graphic design. They both joined from the beginning and are very talented.
Q: What is your favourite bottle in your store right now, and Why should we all buy one?
A: Avincis - Negru de Dragasani (Red). It is made using a local Romanian grape that cannot be found anywhere else. The wine is well balanced with well integrated tannins and flavours of dark fruit, chocolate and leather. Perfect if you want to impress during your dinner with the family!
Q: From your shop right now, name a bottle that you consider to be the perfect MOOD BOOSTER (i.e. a pick me up after a long, dark and cold winter; a fun, light friendly and affordable wine).
A: Gitana - Saperavi. It is playful, accessible, easy to drink by itself, surprising fruit flavours
The team behind De Wijnkaart (Sandra is in the middle to the left)