As you walk into Sum Wine + Books, the whole space looks as though it came straight out of my “dream home” Pinterest board. Green tiles, wood detailing, vintage renovated chairs. The space is stylish and inviting, and you can’t help but grab a book, a glass, and sit near the window. But big cities have a loneliness problem, and that’s exactly what Sum set out to address. Natasha Wilkinson and Keith Brauns felt it themselves, even as two people who genuinely like going out on their own. So when they set out to open a place of their own, they built it around a simple idea: give people a reason to slow down, put their phones away, and talk to each other. Natasha Wilkinson grew up on a small family vineyard in New Zealand, while Keith Brauns grew up in London. Both spent their twenties working in hospitality before moving to Berlin just over a year ago. The result is Sum, a neighborhood bar and bookshop where wine and books are the excuse, not the point. The winelist is a small, rotating selection of natural wines, available on tap and by the bottle, tasted and vetted by Natasha and Keith themselves. The shelves hold a curated selection of books, each paired with its own tasting notes card to make choosing your next read a little easier.
Once a month, there’s the book club social, and every Wednesday from 18-19h, Silent Reading Night takes over, and everyone makes quiet progress on their own book. The space took around two months to renovate, with ninety percent of the work done by hand. The Neukölln bar sits on glass tiles with lights that change colors — this time, it was a warm orange, contrasted with the olive green tiles on the back walls. Some of the chairs came from an organization in Germany that rescues unwanted furniture, which they then refurbish to give new life. The space is full of stories from all over and little imperfections that make it feel authentic, comfortable, and lived in. They really considered the finer details. For example, Keith spent an excessive amount of time doing what he called “the coaster trials” to find the ideal coasters to fit the space. Looking ahead, Sum has more collaborations and food pop-ups on the way, from empanadas and focaccia to real fruit ice cream, alongside book club socials, Silent Reading Nights, and a DJ “house party” planned for August. Like everything else at Sum, they are simply more fun excuses to bring people together.
Text: Stefania Basano / Photos: Isabelle Marten
Sum, Weichselstr.30, 12045 Berlin–Neukölln; map
@get.sum.wine
