Visiting Rijk's Cellar
We would like to visit our wine producers at least once a year. We believe it is important to have a close relationship and we know what each other stands for.
WineGuys
An idea into the glass ...
An idea arises...
The company was founded by Kristian and Jan in 2016 with an ambition to deliver good wine that they themselves can vouch for and at the right price.
You probably know it. You have been out traveling or perhaps at a good restaurant. Here you have got a wine that you think is a little out of the ordinary. When you get home, you talk to your friends about it, but no one knows the wine, because it is not handled in Denmark - unfortunately. Here you have the idea for WineGuys. After talking too many times to each other - and others - about good wines that only exist in travel memories, we decided to do something about it. Now we import wine that we love and that we can vouch for.
"Wine for less than DKK 50 - it either forces the farmer to underpay his employees, produce low quality rather than quantity or not invest in his development. We don't think this is sustainable and have therefore opted out.."
The Right Price
To make the experience even better, we bypass all intermediaries so that you can buy the wine at the best possible price. The vintner still gets his normal price, so he can grow responsibly, while we take care of many of the other tasks to keep the price down.
SUSTAINABILITY
We cannot remove man's burden on the earth, but we can make it as mild as possible. Therefore, we use e.g. cardboard boxes with 75% recycled cardboard as well as we use lightweight protection in recyclable materials for minimal resource consumption for transport. We also talk to our winegrowers about their sustainability and their views on it. It is positive that in fact all the small wine producers are very aware of the importance of their measures for the industry in the future. Some are certified, others just do it because it makes sense "without getting medals" as Francois put it. More can be done and that work continues, but these have been light changes at a relatively small price, which we believe still make a difference.
Sustainability is also about the price
If we are to be able to sell a wine for DKK 50 after transport, excise duty, customs, packaging tax, DKK 5-10 in contribution to cover wages and fixed costs and then VAT, then we can pay the winegrower EUR 1.5 for a bottle of his wine . A glass bottle with 2 labels and stopper costs approx. ZAR 15, which is approx. 1 EUR. This means that the farmer has DKK 3-4 to pay his employees, cultivation of the fields, depreciation on his equipment and his farm before he has anything for himself. In our world, it doesn't add up. It either forces the farmer to underpay his employees, produce a low quality for quantity or not invest in his development. We do not think this is sustainable and have therefore opted out.
THE PERSONS BEHIND
We get help from many friends, family members and others we know, who all think that working with wine is exciting. Without them, the shop would not be what it is today.
Kristian has a long career with the military and has always been interested in gastronomy. He is a terrific cook who loves to visit new places and restaurants and experience their food. He has a large machine park in the kitchen - from which new delicacies are often conjured up. Over time, the interest in wine has grown bigger and bigger and Kristian today has one of the country's largest portfolios at Vivino.
Jan has worked for many years in the financial sector in Denmark and abroad. He is also a skilled cook who knows how to assemble the sauce. The interest in wine really arose on travels in Italy and Spain with random visits to farmers who might - might not - sell wine. As well as curious visits to the smaller wine merchants around in search of the good deal or the overlooked gem. All this before the internet made it easy for us consumers. From 2015-2018, Jan lived in South Africa, where he spent his time finding exciting and interesting wines that we otherwise do not know about in Denmark. Jan is examined by the Cape Wine Academy
Enjoy!
