Scout | Sustainable cocktail bar in London

17-5-2017

From foraged ingredients and house ferments to a zero waste food offering, sustainable cocktail bar Scout is celebrating great British produce in London with inventive and unforgettable cocktails. The bar which will only use fresh produce from the British Isles, launched last month and has been developed by renowned bartender Matt Whiley, the man behind cocktail bar Peg + Patriot and Talented Mr Fox, London’s celebrated cocktail and bar branding and development consultancy. read more

Tunes Bar | Around the world in 11 cocktails

6-3-2017

This week, the first edition of the Amsterdam Cocktail Week started and a ‘must see’ is the Tunes Bar at the Conservatorium Hotel. Last week they launched Tunes Around The World, a tantalizing trip around the world in eleven exciting cocktail & foodpairings. The plans from Bar Manager Tim Hoevenagel and Chef Schilo van Coevorden are ambitious: Tunes should be a destination bar for all cocktails. read more

La Cité du Vin: Wine theme park in in France

31-5-2016

In Bordeaux, France a new theme park will be opening on June 1st. In La Cité du Vin, which means “the city of wine”, both children and adults will have fun! read more

Kuvée, a wine bottle shaped object with touchscreen, Wi-Fi and sensors

31-3-2016

An article about a new product in the wine industry. It’s a wine bottle shaped object with a touchscreen that is connected with Wi-Fi and has sensors to read details like how many glasses of wine left… And the system is designed to keep the wine fresh for 30 days.

read more

Brewery Oedipus is going to age beer in whiskey barrels of Jameson

10-2-2016

This week Brewery Oedipus starts with brewing a craft beer that will be aged in Jameson whiskey barrels. Hoppy and tangy Saison with smooth influences of Irish whiskey. The beer will be available in a limited edition as from April 2016.

For centuries beer and whiskey can be found on the bar alongside, but never before have the flavours been so intertwined as with the collaboration between the brewery Oedipus from Amsterdam and world famous Irish whiskey brand Jameson. The Netherlands is one of the first countries worldwide to start a collaboration with Jameson. read more

A WineStation in your hotel lobby

18-1-2016

Bram Kosterink has immersed himself in the capabilities of the WineStation. Which is already used in some hotel lobbies where you can take a glass of wine via your room key (card) and the bill will be debited to your account ….

Bram Kosterink about the WineStation

This is one of those blogs that has been inspired by another blog. In response to my blog “Inspired by Tuscany’ I was approached for a drink at the systems of WineStation. The same system that I encountered in Tuscany, but now I was informed about the details for the owners of the system in the hospitality industry. I thought it would be interesting to share this information…..

For those who have not read my blog about Tuscany. With the system that I encountered at that time it’s possible to pour your own glass of wine as guests. By means of a pass which you have to upload with an amount, you can choose three different glasses; a tasting glass, half glass or a full glass. After the glass is filled, the amount is directly taken from the pass. Besides this option, the system keeps the wine in the same condition for at least 60 days.

Hilton and Marriott do use the WineStation in the lobby

Hilton and Marriott are already using this system in their luxurious suites and in the lobby of some of their hotels. The hotel room key, (card), can be used to access the WineStation. When the guest takes a glass of wine from the system, the amount is debited to the guests hotel bill.

Besides that the system can be used as described above, the company Napa Technology created the possibility to monitor the ‘wine’ behaviour of guests in a number of wineries. The passes for the WineStation are personalized to be able to send invoice every period. The wine drinking preferences of all guests are known, what they like to drink and how much they drink…. Allowing the wineries to meet every guest’s needs. The technology allows to actively target the sales. Cool if you can prepare a wine profile for all your regular guests. Moreover you can serve and inform your guest at their interest. I wonder how my wine profile would be, probably quite diverse. ^ Bram Kosterink

Bouzy, Wine & Food at the Denneweg Hague

25-9-2015

Bouzy, Wine & Food opened at the Denneweg in The Hague. The wine & bites bar was founded by Martijn Verbruggen and Stefan Verleer and is a place where wine lovers will feel at home.

Bouzy

Co-owner Martijn Verbruggen: “Bouzy is an accessible place with a tough but warm vintage look and natural light from the many windows. The wines are the heart of Bouzy, we have over 100 wines, including 25 open wines of which several champagnes. We serve wines that we get from wine specialist suppliers who share their gems for us. In addition, we import champagnes from small producers ourselves via our company G-Bubbles.”

The name Bouzy

“Bouzy is named after the French Grand Cru area ‘Bouzy’, which is known as one of the best terroirs of Champagne. Next to the wines Martijn and Stefan serve snacks and bistro-style dishes like bruschetta, flammkuchen, bites of fish and meat, charcuterie, salads, cheese, desserts and coq au vin.”

Wine events

Bouzy will be a place where special wine events take place. Recently Lucas Payà was at the restaurant to present the new innovative wine system Coravin of catering professionals. He was sommelier at the former Spanish three-star restaurant elBulli for five years.

About Martijn Verbruggen and Stefan Verleer

Martijn Verbruggen (34) worked as a master-sommelier in (star) restaurants as Savelberg, Seinpost and Catch by Simonis. Stefan Verleer (34) worked as a manager and maître-sommelier at restaurants Zoute Zoen and South of Houston.

Opening hours

Bouzy, Wine & Food is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 to 23:00 o’clock. Next to the regular opening days there will be regularly activities on Sundays.

Coravin – drinking wine without opening the bottle

11-8-2015

10-8-2015 – Last Saturday our colleague Bram Kosterink attended a demonstration of the Coravin. Coravin is an innovation of Greg Lambrecht: “My dream was to magically pour wine from bottles without ever pulling the cork. The remaining wine could then go back in my cellar, so that I could enjoy it again, whenever I desired.”

Drinking wine without opening the bottle

Coravin is a way of opening a bottle of wine without having to remove the cork. Never before it was possible to pour a glass of wine without opening the bottle. Coravin makes this possible. Even the capsule doesn’t have to be removed. The wine glass via a stainless steel needle with a teflon coating, the remaining wine is pressured with the noble argon gas to prevent oxidation. The natural evolution of the wine in the unopened bottle will not be affected because the cork closes after the needle has been removed.

Natural cork

Coravin can only be used on bottles with natural cork. “Right now our focus is on targeting and market this system in Europe. After that we will start thinking about expanding our product portfolio, including to be able to use a similar system on wine bottles with a screw cap.” said Robert van Dijk (Marketing Communication Director at Coravin Europe BV). Coravin has different needles which makes it possible to positively influence the speed of the pouring, they even developed a ‘faster pour needle’ especially for the hospitality industry.

The best wines by the glass

The system is already for sale in many parts of the world. In Europe, the system is widely used in places like London and Paris. Some restaurants even have a separate section called ‘Coravin wines by the glass’ on their wine list. The Coravin section offers the best bottles of wine which are available by the glass. One of the best examples we encountered is the wine list at The Ritz in London. Here you can drink a glass of Burgundy, Le Montrachet from 2009 for ‘only’ £ 130, =. For a tasting glass of one of the most expensive wines in the world you can go to the wine bar Ô Chateau in Paris, they even pour the Chateau Pétrus per glass.

The financial impact

The Coravin will cost you € 299, =. For this amount you will receive a Coravin, two capsules filled with the argon gas, a display for the Coravin and a cover for a wine bottle (suitable for a blind wine tasting). The argon gas capsules are sold separately for € 19,95 per two pieces. They also sell a variety of needles besides the standard needle, like a the ‘vintage needle’ for wines with old corks and the ‘faster poor needle’ capable of rapidly pouring the wine, one needle is sold for € 29,95.

Workshop Gertjan Kiers at Julius bar & grill

30-7-2015

Julius bar & grill in Amsterdam opens its doors on Sunday afternoon 6 September for a workshop with the famous butcher Gertjan Kiers of butchery ‘Fontijn Vlees en Vleeswaren BV’. This edition Gertjan Kiers debones a pork and teaches how to get the best out of it. The learnings can be tasted right back during a four-course lunch.

Pork deboned by Gertjan Kiers at Julius bar & grill

The previous workshops on beef and lamb were sold out, this edition Gertjan Kiers will elaborate about pork. In the afternoon of 6 September, Kiers debones a complete pig and provides chapter and verse. He shows how quality meat is cut, shares how a butcher knife is handled and teaches how all parts of the pig are best cooked on the barbecue.

4-course lunch

With a four-course lunch at Julius bar & grill the guests can taste back the lessons about the pork directly. There is a special wine pairing menu for the grilled meat dishes available.

About Gertjan Kiers

Gertjan Kiers is a born butcher with a clear opinion about meat and the meat industry; “Many consumers prefer convenience over taste and some butchers and chefs attach more importance to marketing rather than the product. By broadening the general knowledge about meat, the consumer gets a better piece of meat on the plate and the butcher profession gains the respect that it deserves. ”

This unique workshop will be in Dutch and can be reserved online via www.juliusbargrill.nl/reserveren stating ‘workshop Gertjan Kiers’.

When: 6 September, 2015

Time: 13:00 to 16:00 pm

A new hotspot at Laren: Gastrobar Anton

23-10-2014

As of today, 23 October, Laren officially has a new hotspot: Gastrobar Anton opens in the same building as restaurant Mauve near the famous ‘Brink’ and can be visited for a coffee, a drink or snack. The GastroBar has a hip, Scandinavian design, with high tables, designer bar chairs, a large solid bar and a comfortable lounge area with leather sofas. Different types of wood, leather and fabric are used in the interior, together with it’s vintage touch this creates a warm atmosphere.

Gastrobar Anton

Where their neighbors, Mauve restaurant, is known for its lunch and dinner, Gastrobar Anton is a great place for a drink, a culinary lunch or shared dining until late in the evening. The dishes are adapted to the drink menu and they are matching with the various drinks. These combination are served by the chefs, for example:

• Grilled beetroot, goat cheese mousse, sherry vinegar and tarragon, with a good glass of wine.
• Steak tartare with puffed quinoa and mustard foam, with a cocktail.
• Panna cotta of white chocolate with caramelized pineapple, with a cup of coffee.

In the weekends guests can stay even longer, every Friday and Saturday a DJ is playing music.