May 30, 2025, by Isa de Laat

Meet Grape Jane: the inspiring (wine) story behind Janneke Koelemaij

Suitcase stories
May 30, 2025, by Isa de Laat

Meet Grape Jane: the inspiring (wine) story behind Janneke Koelemaij

A dream, an island and a good glass of wine: that was all Janneke Koelemaij (38) needed to change course. What started with a love of wine tastings and a spontaneous emigration to Mallorca, grew into her own wine label: Grape Jane. And as is the case with good wines: the story behind it only makes it tastier (more about that below).

Anyway, Janneke Koelemaij is a familiar face of Barts Boekje and her tips have often been the ones that readers can rely on. Time to put her story (and that of SUITSUIT) in the spotlight. Meet Grape Jane: the inspiring (wine) story behind Janneke Koelemaij

GrapeJane

GrapeJane

Not so long ago, Janneke packed her bags to leave for Mallorca for good, for a life in a bikini. Well, for good… It could well be that she and her boyfriend Gregor will be hanging out somewhere else in a year’s time – the advantage of a sailing ship being your home for a large part. What is for good, however, is that she threw her fashion past to the wind and embarked on a life in wine. With her own wine label Grape Jane, she searches for and selects the tastiest (currently mainly Spanish) wines and organises creative tastings at the best addresses in Spain and the Netherlands. And wherever the sun takes her.

The first wine she made herself was a Pinot Noir. Now everyone is crazy about the alcohol-free sparkling wine. She tastes and develops everything herself. That makes it so personal.

SUITSUIT

SUITSUIT

Janneke's story therefore fits in seamlessly with the mission of SUITSUIT, the travel and lifestyle brand that aims to empower women through travel.

At SUITSUIT, they believe that travel empowers women: it increases your self-confidence, broadens your horizons and, sometimes literally, lets you explore new paths. But they also point out the dark side of the travel industry: despite the fact that women make up 54% of the working population in tourism, they are often the least visible and least appreciated forces in the system. SUITSUIT wants to change that, not only by inspiring women to travel, but also by investing 10% of their annual profits in projects that support women in the travel industry through their Foundation.

Empowerment through travel, sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. And sometimes it all starts with a glass of good wine.

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