Het Gooi is small, but it has plenty of good wine addresses. Bussum and Laren each have a few wine shops with a large range. In Blaricum and Baarn there are wine bars where you can taste a lot by the glass. Below, town by town, where to go.
Bussum
In the centre of Bussum, on the Kerkstraat, is The Winebar, from the same owner as A-Fusion, so the food is good too. The wine list is simple, but ask for the notebook: it holds a few top wines. Around the corner, on the Kapelstraat, de Buren pours original wines, such as a Nebbiolo from South Africa, next to familiar names. They charge a fixed mark-up per bottle, which keeps a good bottle affordable.
For a bottle to take home, go to the Bussumsche Wijnkooperij on the Spiegelstraat. Besides a large range of wine they have older vintages and top wines. Ask for Howard for advice on wine with food. Wijnhandel Eduard Mol on the Huizerweg has long been a fixture in Bussum. The shop is a little cluttered, but there is always something open to taste.
Laren and Blaricum
De Larense Wijnkoperij is in a listed farmhouse on the Torenlaan, with more than 600 wines, many of them imported by the owners. At Visatelier in Laren a fishmonger, a restaurant and a wine bar share one roof. In the wine bar you drink sparkling or white wine, without having to eat.
In Blaricum, Ottovino on the Dorpsstraat pours more than thirty wines by the glass. Owner Otto collects the wines himself from the estates, often small producers, and you can take your favourite bottle straight home. Wexxs is also in a farmhouse, on the Torenlaan in Blaricum. At the end of the day there is often something open to taste. If you want to eat, there is Bistrôt Chapeau on the Huizerweg for French bistro dishes, or Rust Wat on the Schapendrift for a French brasserie with fish and aged meat.
Baarn, Hilversum and Huizen
Vineria Nebbiolo in Baarn has 450 Italian wines, from Trentino-Alto Adige to Sicily, with an Italian menu that changes every week. Per bottle you pay a fixed €15 on top of the shop price. In Hilversum, Gastrovino Mijn Hemel is a wine shop with a wine café: you taste by the glass first and take a bottle home afterwards. On the edge of Hilversum lies Wijngaard Zonnestraal, the only vineyard in Het Gooi, with its first harvest in 2016. There are regular events, such as a pizza and wine evening on the first Friday of each month. In Huizen, Siersma Wijnadvies sells, among other things, its own Skaap wines from South Africa.
Around Het Gooi
By the lock in Muiden is Wijnbar Vijf, with wines from small estates and a large menu of dishes to share. In Weesp, Somm has more than 250 wines, from affordable to exclusive. In Vreeland and Loenen aan de Vecht there are two restaurants with a Michelin star: De Nederlanden, with a broad wine list, and 't Amsterdammertje, with organic wines only.
Tip
Many wine shops in Het Gooi have something open to taste at the end of the week. Combine a visit with a drink in one of the wine bars. All addresses are also in the Het Gooi guide.
