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Leon's Winementaries, aflevering 97
with this episode we interrupt the series of 7 visits to dutch winemakers
in France we did this summer.
This episode is about a recent wine tasting
from one of the most respected importers from The Netherlands, André Kerstens - partners in wine.
The tasting took place at their premises at the Kazernestraat in The Hague, right behind the famous Hotel Des Indes.
But André Kerstens, very well known in the wine business,
was always located in Tilburg?
We asked father André and son Olaf for an explanation
Yes, I can be very short about that
Kerstens was sold to Pernod Ricard, a large french multinational
and the familybusiness actually stopt 'cause I was going to the university.
After I graduated I worked a couple of years in a software company, but I didn't feel happy.
I started completely new together with my father in 1999
and because my former girlfriend lived in The Hague we started here.
That's why Kerstens moved from Tilburg to The Hague and we still love to have our company here.
And how about Mr. André Kerstens?
Mr. André Kerstens was director at Pernod Ricard of André Kerstens until 1996
After that I freewheeled a little, was active at the wine academy.
I never forgot about the trade,
and just like Olaf mentioned in 1999 we restarted with Partners in Wine,
what changed again in André Kerstens in 2010.
I always kept a good relationship with Pernod Ricard,
an excellent company I must say.
If you work for a company that bought your own, its never easy,
but Pernod Ricard always been excellent in any way.
They say that between Dutch and French things can be difficult,
but for me personally that never has been the case. Excellent company!
The Kerstens company still work with suppliers with whom they already did business before the sale to Pernod Ricard.
And when Olaf and André bought back the company the wineries loved to move with them again.
Always good to see such a loyal customer-supplier relationship.
Pernod Ricard is a very large company with beautiful brands, but a couple of ours fell between two stools.
And those brands came back to us. For example the winery in Reuilly Claude Lafond which already have been imported by us since 1969.
My father discovered this house and they were the first in this region that exported their wines.
And we're still doing business with them for almost 50 years now.
Furthermore our cognac brand Paul Giraud started with Kerstens, lost contact for a while, but now it's all excellent again. Very happy with that.
And Domaine de Maubet! Côtes de Gascogne.
I started with this winery in 1988 when there was a big disaster for white Bordeaux due to frost.
I fled to this region instead, 'cause I already had some contacts there. And they actually took over the position of white Bordeaux.
Up till now Côtes de Gascogne is very popular in The Netherlands.
I always kept close contact with them and they are still one of our biggest suppliers.
The history of the Kerstens family goes back more than three centuries. The first documents date from 1679.
Yes, my grandfather ..., no my great-grandfather ...
... started approximately in 1880, first as the Kerstens brothers and with my grandfather as André Kerstens.
The company had a great start and did very well until the second world war. During the war business was off course slow.
After the war we grew explosively.
When I started in 1961 the average yearly wine consumption per person was 1.7 liter and when I stopt it was 23 liters.
So we had quit a pleasant ride ...
André Kerstens has a rich assortment in particular France, Spain, Portugal and Australia
During the tasting we met Erick García from Adegas Valminor from Rias Baixas, in the northwest of Spain, one of my favorite wines.
Adegas Valminor is één van de leidende producenten in albarino wijnen uit Galicië in het noordwesten van Spanje.
Met Valminor, onze 100% albarino die we beschouwen als ons vlaggeschip, onze baby, startte we in 1997.
Dus verkopen we deze wijn inmiddels meer dan 16 jaar.
Het is onze meest speciale wijn, gemaakt van één van Spanje's beste witte wijndruiven, de Albarino.
Deze druif geeft zeer exotisch fruitrijke tonen zoals ananas en abrikoos.
Deze wijn heeft een goede zuurgraad wat ervoor zorgt dat je de wijn makkelijk 2 à 3 jaar oud kan drinken.
Je kan deze wijn bij veel verschillende gerechten drinken, zoals salades, pasta's en bij bijna elk visgerecht.
Mijn favoriet is Valminor bij sushi of bij kreeft. Heerlijk bij kreeft!
The wines of Kerstens are of course available in their shop in the Kazernestraat. But as an importer they deliver also to other wineshops and restaurants.
Just check the website for all addresses.
Thanks for watching and I like to see you back for the next winementary with footage shot at Bergerac at Van den Beld Wines.