Est. 968

The very first traces of Dutch wine production are dated in the year 968; now, 1053 years later, we want to return to those basics by introducing you to climate neutral and natural wines, from our very own Dutch soil. From founded to foundation, our bar strives to disrupt the sector by both reducing negative social and ecological impacts of production as well as providing a premium selection. 

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Introducing you to the best Dutch wines

No need to drive down to France anymore to find the best wine; discover what Dutch producers have to offer and how they’re doing their part in making the industry more sustainable. 

Ecological at its core

The producers of the wines we offer are reducing their ecological impact as much as possible, but even without pesticides and long distance transport, an environmental burden will always remain. Therefore, profits of the foundation are reinvested in nature, to offset the ecological burden of wine production to its full extent. 

Experience it yourself at out tasting session

Our Wines 

We have worked the last weeks to make a selection of the best ecological wines for you. We’ll announce and share them with you at our tasting on 28 May.

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Our Mission

Creating a wine experience that is truly local, ecological and transparent. 

Our mission started with the idea that it should be possible to enjoy Dutch wine in the city, while having a positive impact on our environment. That is why we founded ‘Est 968’. This summer, we are going to launch a Crowdfunding Campaign to gather funding for a wine experience that strives to be environmentally positive. 

Local: the Netherlands produces excellent wines, which are quickly starting to find their way to the larger public. The essence of our wine offering will be focused on Dutch natural wines. We will also offer a few natural wines from small producers in neighboring countries. Our small food menu will consist of local and biological ingredients only.

Ecological: we will work with small domains that have a net positive impact on the environment by keeping the biodiversity on their vineyards intact and even further it. We only work with winemakers that care for viniculture in combination with the environment. Our business operations will also be as ecological as possible, by circularity in our furnishing and wine bottles, but also to compensating those burdens we cannot avoid by buying exhausted farmland to plant trees and support similar projects in the Netherlands. That way we can have a positive impact on the environment, substantially bigger than the environmental burden of our wine project.

Transparent: you will know how every penny of your glass of wine will be used. We will be completely transparent about our finances, from salaries, to operational costs, to environmental projects and even losses or profits. We also have personally vetted each winemaker personally and have visited the domain of every wine on our menu, so we can ensure the positive ecological impact and offering you the best wines. Our employees will also be actively involved in thinking along about the business process and will get fair pay.

Experience it yourself!

28 /5

Our Team 

Pragmatic Idealist

Johannes Kirpestein

Johannes is our idea machine, be it one with his feet on the ground (most of the times). The original idea of the wine bar was his brainchild and even though it only is the first step in his vision to change our economic system, he is too pragmatic not to get his hands dirty. Johannes prefers the more heavy and traditional red wines, especially Syrah, Grenache and Merlot from the South of France.

Wine Adept

Matthew Hargreaves

Matt is the British-German touch to our wine bar with a vivid passion for good wine and food. He studied and lived in Amsterdam for the past five years, where he worked for many restaurants. Matt got his wine qualifications in London.

Environmental Gatekeeper

Fanny Cavalieri

Fanny is the French touch to our wine bar. She graduated in Environment and Sustainable Development in Montreal and has worked for several environmental projects. Fanny will make sure that we will not commit any acts of greenwashing. Oh yes, and she is an incredible chef.

Entrepreneur in Residence

Christian van der Woude

Christian gets stuff done. When others just start preparing, he is already ten steps ahead. His biggest compliment came from the former British ambassador to the Netherlands who called him ‘the entrepreneur of the embassy’. Christian has a particular liking for Chardonnay from the Napa Valley in California.

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Next tasting session in June

Our first tasting session in May is fully booked, but sign up above to get notified first about the next one. 

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Foundation Est 968, registered under number 84131365 in The Hague. Questions or comments? Send us a message at info[@]est968.nl.