Toast the season at the first-ever Amsterdam Wine Festival
This sponsored article was produced by the NL Times for the Amsterdam Wine Festival.
Spring may still feel far away, but you can bask in warmth generated by the world’s finest fruits at the Amsterdam Wine Festival. Taking placing March 24 through March 26 at Westergasfabriek, this brand-new festival unites wine producers and importers from around the world and brings them all under one roof with wine aficionados and hobbyists alike.
A ticket provides a single day’s entrance to the festival and equips each guest with a souvenir glass. That should prove easy to keep full since over 180 wines are available for purchase by the glass. Spread over the 2,500 square meters of the Gashouder, Amsterdam’s old gas works factory, the event’s debut edition features harvests from the Southern Hemisphere, with special wines from South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
“We also have some cellar secrets, like Penfolds Grange and Rust en Vrede Estate,” says festival co-founder Ivar Beukeboom. “And, yes, we have a bottle of Pétrus for those who can afford it – or just want to make it a very special night.”
Besides giving visitors the chance to grow their private bottle collections at reasonable prices, the Amsterdam Wine Festival offers plenty of oenological education and entertainment. Ticket holders get to talk with vintners, join in on workshops and test their palates through tastings and food pairings.
Festivalgoers are sure to dine just as well as they wine, too, with many culinary choices mirroring the represented wine regions. Dishes include braai, asado, kangaroo and New Zealand mussels and lamb. Catering comes courtesy of Smokey Goodness, the Dutch company run by twice-crowned world barbecue champion Jord Althuizen.
Plus, with each day going until 1 a.m., live music performances and DJs will be on hand to ease guests into the night.
Sound too good to happen just once a year? A second edition of the Amsterdam Wine Festival featuring Northern Hemisphere harvests is scheduled from September 29 to October 1 also at the Westergasfabriek.
Entrance is limited to visitors 18 years of age and older. Tickets cost 12 euros each and can be purchased directly from the festival's website.