On our list to explore this week is the Benelux Wine Co. in Amsterdam.
The place to find wine © Benelux Wine Co
The place for wines from The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - you could have guessed that from the shop’s name….
Prompted by Monday’s interview with AJ Pawlikowski and Malory Lane on Monocle Radio’s The Menu, this is definitely somewhere we at Mill Made are going to check out. Here’s what Monocle has to say about one of their favourite shops.
The place to taste wine © Benelux Wine Co
Drinking in the region - Monocle
“Our passion for wine and cheese developed over the years during a number of working-holiday sabbaticals on farms and vineyards across Europe, Israel and Australia,” says AJ Pawlikowski, a translator who emigrated to Japan with partner and cheese specialist Malory Lane in 2010. The US-born partners moved to Amsterdam in 2019 with the idea of starting a wine-and-cheese business and began by visiting every wine-maker they could find within 400km of their new base (writes Josh Fehnert). Despite the tough timing of launching a business during the first lockdown, the pair found a charming space in December 2020 and started The Benelux Wine Co.
“Just consider that the majority of emissions tied to any bottle of wine are connected to the distribution process,” says Pawlikowski. “In Amsterdam, how sustainable is a bottle of low-sulphite, spontaneously fermented wine sourced from New Zealand, or Sicily, for that matter?” Fair point. So what’s on offer? Most of the reds come from Luxembourg, a few from the Netherlands’ regions of North Brabant and Limburg and some from Belgium too. With the idea set, the couple sought a space and settled on an old shop in the central Jordaan district a 10-minute walk from their home. They tapped Amsterdam architects Ninetynine to spruce up the bright, brick-fronted space and turn the small kitchen at the back into a lively tasting room, with the help of carpenters Houthandel van Steen.
“We put on events every Thursday evening in our tasting room, with a different theme every week,” says Pawlikowski, who, with Lane, is comfortable keeping the business small. “We also hold some tastings on canal boats and these allow us to foster an inclusive drinking community in and around the shop. The concept of running a family business, similar to the kind you’d see in Japan, is something that we’ve always respected,” he says.
The place to learn about wine © Benelux Wine Co
Tweede Anjeliersdwarsstraat 15, 1015 NS Amsterdam