You might be surprised to know that there’s no wine in a hidden villa
The most famous hidden wine bar in the world, with the most hidden wines, has just been discovered in a tiny house in the Swiss village of Villa Maria, according to the BBC.
In a story that’s set to be told in a new documentary called Hidden Villas, the BBC’s Ben Goldacre reports that the house, hidden from view by a fence, is actually home to a “sustainable and discreet” wine cellar.
“This is a village, a tiny little village in the middle of the Swiss Alps, in the village of Maria where there are no tourist sights,” the villa’s owner, Bernhard Vincke, told the BBC, explaining that the hidden wine cellar has been in operation since 2002, before being bought by Vinckes family.
“We were very lucky, because it was only three years ago that we started to sell.
It was the first time we’ve ever sold a wine cellar and it’s very well known and we sell a lot of wine.”
According to the vineyard owner, the wine cellar was built on land that belonged to the Vincks and was in a remote part of the village where it was difficult to get to, according the BBC story.
The hidden wine room is just one of many hidden wine shops, bars and wineries hidden in the country’s many hidden vineyards, according to The Guardian.
Some of the more obscure hidden wine bars and vineyards are in remote areas, and are rarely visited by the public.
Vincke told the British publication that the villas owner had been aware of the hidden vineyard for some time, and that the wine is in fact “totally original.”
“We thought, ‘why not?'”
Vinckel told the Guardian.
“I’ve been selling wine for decades, I’ve always sold a lot, but I never thought I would find something like this.
But it’s true, we sold it to a local family, who are farmers.”
The wine cellar is part of an exclusive “Hidden Villas” initiative by the Wine Merchants Association, which is run by the wine and wine industry.
Last year, a similar program called Wine for Everyone was announced, and was designed to provide a resource for wine lovers to find hidden wines.
One of the Wine For Everyone’s goals is to make wine “easier to find,” the Wine Merchant Association website states, and to make it easier for people to “access and appreciate the best wine” they can find.
So, for now, the Hidden Villa wine cellar may not be much of a surprise to wine fans, but for the wine industry, it’s a big deal.
For the first 100 days of the year, the Wine and Spirit Alliance of America will hold its annual Wine Festival, which will focus on the “hidden” and “unique” wine market.
This year, Hidden Villacas winery will be the featured wine of the festival, as well as the winner of the award for “Best Wine in the World.”
For more information on the Wine Festival of the Americas, click here.
And for more stories like this, check out the BBC and The Guardian .
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