Amsterdam Wine Festival

Let it be known that I love wine.  I’ve spent the last twelve years of my life in California, so it should come as no surprise that wine has become one of my favorite indulgences.  Although part of the excitement of moving to Europe is living in close vicinity to some of the most famous wine regions in the world, I miss the California wine country more than anything.  If I had it my way, I would own a vacation home in Calistoga.  Every other weekend would be a spa day followed by wine tastings in Sonoma Valley with dinner at The Girl and The Fig.  Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to the new wine frontiers ahead of me, but there will always be a place in my heart for wine from the Golden State.  It’s rich, and boozy, and, as many Europeans put it, a bit dramatic (more on that later).

Last weekend, I attended the Amsterdam Wine Festival.  I had been looking forward to it all week and it seemed like a nice idea for date number three with a certain someone that Friday night.  The evening got off to a good start - dinner at Primi Bar + Cucina, a small neighborhood Italian café located a few blocks from Westerpark, where the wine festival was taking place.  

Quick shout out to Primi for their hospitality.  I showed up at their establishment with no reservation and the other half of my party still in transit.  These guys had no available tables or open reservations.  My bad for thinking I could just stroll in last minute on a Friday night and expect to be seated.  Can we say rookie mistake?  After seeing my disappointment, the host asked me to sit tight by the bar while he made some magic happen.  He even poured me a glass of prosecco to keep me from pouting.  The food was delish - homemade tagliatelle lamb ragu, say word!  Needless to say, they’ll be seeing me again.

After dinner, my date and I made our way to Westergasfabriek, the venue inside the park holding the wine fest.  Westerpark was lit, partly because there also happened to be an EDM concert happening close by.  But the wine festival itself wasn’t exactly what I had expected, for good reasons and some not-so-good reasons.

I’ll lead with the positive and start with the good reasons.  The Amsterdam Wine Festival boasted wines from places all over the world.  Loved it - talk about indulgence!  Once you purchase your ticket, the welcome wagon hands you a souvenir wine glass and a “passport” with details on all the wineries and the goods they’ve brought with them.  There were SO many options, with wines from Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and yes, the United States.  Cheeky side note about the U.S. section: The “wijnpaspoort” (wine passport) provides a short description of each global region to give festival goers an idea of what they might want to try.  The blurb about U.S. wines, basically read that American wines are very much like Americans themselves, a little too thick (in other words, too fat) and a bit exaggerated, but on the appropriate occasion, you learn to appreciate them.  Ouch.  

My favorite part of the festival was France.  All of the wineries were grouped by country, except France.  France had a separate building all to itself where the wineries were separated by region - Beaujolais & Rhône, Bordeaux, Burgundy & Alsace, Provence, and of course there was a Champagne bar.  (Sigh) I could have easily passed the time just drinking in France.  Overall, it was a nice lively event.  We did our fair share of tasting.  Not bad for a third date ;)

The not-so-good surprises I would probably attribute more to the expat learning curve than anything else.  While the wine fest was entertaining and well-attended (usually a good sign) the whole spot felt more like an EDM concert than an actual wine festival.  Between the terribly loud techno music screaming from the DJ booth, the droves of drunk twentysomething-year-olds,  and the numerous food trucks peddling greasy overpriced mystery meats, I found the vibe a little off-putting.  Perhaps I’m being a bit of a Napa Valley snob, but I found myself nearly clutching my pearls.  And I don’t wear pearls.  

My biggest complaint by far had to do with accepted forms of payment.  Turns out, the wine fest only accepts debit cards issued by a Dutch bank.  One of the many inconveniences of being a new foreigner in this country is that it takes awhile to get a Dutch bank account.  So my date had to front me for my ticket.  We got inside and soon discovered that we had to pay for individual wine tastings - which were kinda pricey (half pours ranged from €2.00 to €12.75).  In an attempt to recover from my initial flub, I insisted on paying for all tastings.  Moded again.  Cash was not accepted.  Once more, my very generous date stepped in.  “Don’t worry,” he joked, “I’ll just get another job.”  I felt horrible.  It was an expat moment for the books.  

Indeed, when it comes to many places of business in The Netherlands, especially the smaller ones, U.S. issued credit and debit cards are virtually worthless.  But I have to say, I was a little taken aback by my experience at the wine fest - an event that attracts vendors and wine lovers from around the world, yet one must hold a Dutch bank account in order to partake.  Leaving newbies like me out in the cold.  Not cool, y’all.  Not cool.

I probably won’t return to the Amsterdam Wine Festival (mainly on g.p.), but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from giving it a try.  Just make sure you have your monies in order!