Thursday, July 02, 2015

Recommended in Copenhagen, Denmark - Antidote wine bar


Wine bar Copenhagen, Antidote wine bar, wine blog, wine bar review, Vinbar Antidote
Antidote is the cure for wine lover's craving. (Image: Antidote.)

How relaxed can a wine bar possibly be? In Antidote’s case: very. When, on top of this, us two ladies were served with astonishing helpfulness, we left the bar grinning. Let me tell you how it all went down.

Antidote. Late Saturday night. The place is packed, the waiters are practically running. But let’s stop here for a while. l’ll brief you the background: at this point I’m very familiar with Copenhagen’s wine bar king Kenn Husted’s places. I’ve visited his attractive wine bars many, many times. The wine list is fairly uniform from place to place, and even though there is a lot to choose from, I, as an efficient customer, have already tasted several of the wines. OK. Let's get back to Antidote, and to the moment of placing our orders. I tell the friendly waiter that I’d like to have a glass of red wine, and I’d like it to be something I haven’t tasted before. And that just now I long for a red that has plenty of fruit, but also tannin and acid to at least medium level. (I’m being a very easy customer…) He suggests a number of wines, but alas, I’ve tasted all of them before. He admits that there’s a challenge. Challenge accepted!

And so he starts bouncing back and forth between the bar and our table, bringing a new bottle after another. The first wine doesn’t have enough acid. Second: not enough fruit. Third: not enough tannin. Finally, the fourth wine ticks every box. (It is Maquinon Garnacha.) A glass of this wine, please! Yes, this all actually happened, just to find me a single glass of the right wine. And no, he didn’t know that I write a wine blog.

Wine bar Copenhagen, Antidote wine bar, wine blog, wine bar review, Vinbar Antidote
Maquinon Garnacha 2013.

The man behind Antidote is Kenn Husted, a wine importer, wine bar entrepreneur and wine merchant. He says his wine bars are unique due to the unique level of service. Anyone, Husted claims, can put together a decent wine list and a decent menu, but impeccable service is a different story. Although I often find even the wine list and the menu to be a tough challenge, I will have to concur with Husted, when he says his aim is that the clients leave his bars surprised by the quality of service they received. Bull’s-eye. At Antidote Husted’s service standard is living reality.

Amongst Husted’s wine bars, Antidote’s mission is to me the medicine against ”stresses of everyday life, Danish weather, anonymous wines, bland food and not-so-present service” (freestyle transl. from Danish by me). Aptly, it is located on a very hipster street Jægersborggade, in the multicultural neighbourhood of Nørrebro. Husted and his team personally search everything that is on offer from wines to sausages out. They travel constantly to find new delicacies and premium wine producers with craftsmanship and passion. Antidote’s wines have one thing in common: they all tell a story.

All of Husted’s wine bars have a different menu. Antidote’s dishes are french-spanish-american with a comfort food twist. You can order a bunch of tapas to share with your friend, or a single larger dish. The wine list is extensive. Or how about around 30 wines by the glass and 23 pages long list for bottles of wine? Here you can find everything from legendary old world producers like Borgogno from Barolo to rock stars of the new world wine, like Charles Smith from Washington State. Whatever is hitting the charge just now or is the next big thing in the world of wine, Antidote is the cure for your craving.

Coordinates:
Antidote Vinbar
Jægersborggade 56
2200 Kööpenhamina (Nørrebro)
info@antidotevinbar.dk
+45 3811 3030

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Antidote’s wine list includes these Divine Wine reviewed wines:





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