Selected by Grapehunters is built on an adventurous spirit and shared passion for natural wine. We’ve garnered relationships with the winemaking community for years and make real wine accessible in a fun and approachable way. No conventions, no rules, just lots of love and delicious juice. Together we can reshape the conventional wine world towards a more sustainable and inclusive model!
The original Grapehunters project started some 10 years ago by Jurriaan and Dido. After their studies in Cultural Anthropology and Engineering, they left Amsterdam to travel the world and learning all ins and outs about winemaking from big industrial corporations as well as from smaller artisanal estates. They’ve experienced first hand how much nasty stuff is often added to grapes before they turn into wine. During their internship at Joan Ramon Escoda of Escoda Sanahuja in Catalunya in 2017, they were introduced to the natural wine world: a group of artisanal producers that made wine from grapes, without any additions and without fining or filtration. This inspired them to make wine in the same way. Dido and Jurriaan are currently settled in the tiny village of Rabós, in Catalunya. Here they make natural wine under the brand name Vinyes Tortuga.
Selected by Grapehunters is a new chapter in this adventure, when Jurriaan asked Dana to help raise a voice for the natural wine movement. Together they’ve founded ‘Grapehunters’, an initiative that brings different winemakers and artists together with a mission to make natural wine more accessible for a larger audience. After working for a few years in business, Dana decided to take a turn in life to focus fully on her passion for wine. She learned about winemaking from a number of natural winemakers throughout Spain and France, owns a WSET level 3 Diploma and worked in Amsterdam as sommelier, wine importer and distributor. Dana is looking to bridge the gap between the conventional and natural wine world, by guiding wine consumers towards a more sustainable choice in general.