Foodies and oenophiles have a new reason to visit Amsterdam: The Hotel De L’Europe has earned the “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator for its fine dining establishment Bord’Eau. As the second-tier award out of a possible three awards, the Best of Award of Excellence was created to give special recognition to restaurants that exceeded the requirements of the first-tier Award of Excellence and are very close to receiving the top Grand Award. According to Wine Spectator guidelines, the 878 winners of the award had to demonstrate a wide spread of several winegrowing regions or by offering vintage depth with vertical offerings.
De L’Europe’s chef sommelier Dannis Apeldoorn is responsible for the hotel's comprehensive wine program, which includes curating inventive lists for the hotel’s restaurants and private event rooms. Bord’Eau opened its doors July 2011 when the hotel emerged from an extensive renovation. In preparation for De L’Europe’s grand re-opening, Apeldoorn visited France’s Languedoc region and worked with top winemakers and wineries, choosing grapes to blend exclusive De L’Europe red (composed of multiple lots of Merlot from vineyards of the Moueix family) and white (50 percent sauvignon blanc/30 percent chardonnay/20 percent viognier) house wines. His wine program at the hotel involves tastings, tours and interactive seminars and may be scheduled by appointment (up to 12 people).
For more information, visit www.leurope.nl.