ABOUT US
A craving for wine
Vitis Vin sees the light of day. No big brands or predictable labels, but small-scale winemakers with soil on their shoes and a story in their bottle. We mainly head towards France and fall in love with estates such as Désiré Petit, Roche-Audran, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Fleuriet & Fils. Winemakers from the very beginning, with whom we still gladly share a table today.
More space, more taste
We're bursting at the seams and moving to the Drongen industrial park. Not only will our bottles have more space there, but our ideas will too.
Cook Experience is born. We gather people around the stove and fill their glasses. Cooking, tasting, discovering, and most importantly, having a lot of fun. Because, in our opinion, the best way to understand wine is still with a plate on the table and good company around you.
Ten years, time for a party
Ten years of Vitis Vin. Of course, we couldn't let that pass unnoticed. We gathered friends with an equal love for taste and together founded House of Taste.
Since then, our open house days are hard to imagine without Callebaut cheeses and the wonderful olive oil from The Taste Company. Olivier gladly provides his always charming explanations alongside them. Wine, cheese, olive oil, and many familiar faces: we don't really need anything more.
Joery says yes
Joery De Lille joins our team. Following an impressive career as a sommelier and his crowning as Best Sommelier of Belgium in 2017, he brings a wealth of experience, a keen sense of taste, and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of food pairing.
With Joery on the team, we delve even further and deeper. German heavyweights like Peter Jakob Kühn and Weingut am Schlipf Schneider find their way to Drongen. Piedmont, Joery's great love, also gains a prominent position. Before we know it, our selection includes over 800 references. Luckily, we love to taste.
A new home
Things are moving fast. Very fast. The warehouse is filling up, the team is growing, and our plans no longer fit within the walls of the industrial park.
In the centre of Drongen, we finally found the place we were looking for. A beautiful building, close to people, with space for a real shop. A place where you can just walk in, discover a bottle, come for a tasting, or completely lose yourself in grapes, regions, and stories during a wine course.
A new home for Vitis Vin, but above all, an open house for everyone with a craving for wine.
Six bottles full of friendship
2019 will be a year to remember. During our autumn tasting, we will welcome fifteen winemakers in Drongen. Fifteen personalities, fifteen stories, and many, many bottles to discover together.
We are also launching our mysterious Special Box. Six befriended winemakers put their passion and craftsmanship into one special box. Young artists design the labels, turning each bottle into a small work of art. With a limited edition of 6,000 copies, it will be a piece of Vitis Vin for your wine cellar. Although, of course, you can also simply open the bottles.
Two New Flavor Makers
Our team is being strengthened by Lorenz and Florent. Two different personalities, united by the same hunger for taste.
Lorenz is a foodie, a hospitality enthusiast, and a professional connoisseur of fine restaurants and wine bars. Name a city or country, and he'll effortlessly pull a surprising address out of his sleeve.
Florent is much more than Bernard's nephew. As the former sommelier of OAK*, he has more than earned his stripes in gastronomy. With his wine knowledge, commercial acumen, and infectious enthusiasm, he will become a valuable asset to the sales team.
Twenty years, twenty parties
Twenty years of Vitis Vin isn't celebrated with just one reception and a platter of snacks. We're doing it twenty times.
The entire year will be dedicated to wine, food, and friendship. We're organizing the 20Y Lunches, running the Ghent half marathon, playing our Padel Cup, and hosting old friends during the Tasting Days. We'll delve into the wines of Thierry and Louis Germain with sommelier friends, visit Nonam with Judith Beck, and turn Hey Frankie upside down with Haus Gupi.
And it doesn't stop there. We'll combine wine and winter barbecue during Vinois x Dourbie, head to the burger madness of Dripfest, and keep discovering new bottles, dishes, and dance floors.
Twenty events for twenty years of Vitis Vin. Sometimes educational, sometimes gastronomic, sometimes sporty, and often a little exuberant. Exactly how we like it.
Steurbaut puts everything in its place
Thomas Steurbaut joins the team and brings order to our logistics and stock management. No small task in a warehouse with hundreds of SKUs.
But amidst the counting, stacking, and organizing, he, too, catches the wine bug. In just two years, he achieves WSET Level 2 and Level 3. From boxes and stock locations to grape varieties and vinification methods. We couldn't be prouder.
Thank you, Thomas. Welcome, Kevin
Kevin joins the team, bringing new energy. At the same time, we say goodbye to a familiar face.
Thomas Irmer, our always cheerful driver and a constant presence since the early years, is retiring. Those who know Thomas will be glad to hear that sitting still completely is not for him. He will still occasionally help out as a flexi-worker. This way, he won't completely disappear from our routes and, fortunately, not from our story either.
Bernard De Vriendt
Founder • Sommelier-Conseil
Bernard is a qualified industrial construction engineer, but he soon realised that his true passion lay among the vines of beautifully situated vineyards. The wine bug bit him hard, ultimately resulting in a significant career change. In 1996, he took his first steps into the wine world at 'De Wijnkeldermeester' under the inspiring mentorship of Roland Verbraeken. He then worked as a brand manager for various leading Belgian companies in the wine sector. Fifteen years ago, Vitis Vin, his brainchild, was launched. Those who know Bernard know that he speaks about his wine travels with unparalleled passion and enthusiasm. In doing so, he has established many contacts with talented winemakers who have grown with Vitis Vin over the years.
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2004
- Laatste avondmaal
- Stuffed Tomato
- Favoriete druif
- Carignan
- Favoriete kaas
- Salers Tradition
Joery De Lille
Sales • Co-owner • ASI Gold
Wine has been flowing through my veins since I was 18. Having just graduated from Hotelschool Ter Groene Poorte as a sommelier, I embarked on a career that brought me alongside great chefs, including at Horseele, Karmeliet, and Hof van Cleve. My great passion is ampelography, or the study of the grapevine. Why does a winemaker do what they do in the vineyard? From planting to pruning, from intervening or not during the growing season to, of course, the harvest. It's an untamed passion that has already brought me so many wonderful journeys and discoveries. Since 2017, I've been a part of this amazing team. In the meantime, I continued my education to learn more and more about wine, which resulted in a WSET Level 3 diploma and ASI Gold. Expect a lot of enthusiasm, a pinch of chaos, but above all: many stories!
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2017
- Laatste avondmaal
- Bouillabaisse
- Favoriete druif
- Nebbiolo
- Favoriete kaas
- Shropshire Blue
What do you listen to when you uncork?
Lorenz Verstraete
Marketing • Partner
As a true foodie, Lorenz can't stay away from hospitality venues, both domestically and internationally. His adventures as 'lolosbelly' have been online for a while, and from this passion, another emerged: wine. Long before his professional path led him to the wine world, Lorenz was already seeking out surprising wineries, new flavours, and daring pairings. His love for fine natural wine is welcomed with open arms at Vitis, and he could talk about it endlessly. When you don't find him in a trendy bar or tasteful restaurant, you can find him in the kitchen, another one of his passions.
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2021
- Laatste avondmaal
- Chinese pancakes with duck breast fillet and hoisin sauce
- Favoriete druif
- Chenin Blanc
- Favoriete kaas
- Étivaz AOP
What do you listen to when uncorking?
Florent Vanderstuyft
Sales • Wine Advisor
Ex-Sommelier in various gastronomic establishments, including Oak* in Ghent. Florent started in hospitality as a student and discovered his passion for wine. Since then, he has only grown in a rising line towards his dream job at Vitis Vin. Throughout the years, he has come to know himself as a sommelier. He has discovered which types of wines he stands for and loves to pair wines and dishes as well as possible. Thanks to his years of experience in hospitality, he is the perfect intermediary between hospitality and wine trade.
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2022
- Laatste avondmaal
- Pasta al Ragu
- Favoriete druif
- Mourvèdre
- Favoriete kaas
- BlauBlütter van bio Schaukäserei Wiggensbach
What do you listen to when you uncork?
Thomas Steurbaut
Logistics • WSET 3
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2024
Kevin De Poorter
Driver
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2025
Thomas Irmer
Flexi
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2004
Pascal De TOLLENAERE
Whisky Connoisseur
- Bij vitis sinds
- 2024
Sven Jacobs
Instructor
Sven recently graduated from the University of Suze-la-Rousse, where he excelled in his Sommelier Conseil diploma.
Eager to learn and always on the lookout for the latest discoveries and innovations in the wine world. With a great fondness for wines from Austria, Slovenia, and Germany, he is the ideal person to share and embody our Vitis DNA.
- Laatste avondmaal
- Aged côte à l'os with béarnaise and hand-cut fries
- Favoriete druif
- Riesling
- Favoriete kaas
- Aged Comté
What are you listening to while uncorking?
Inge Nelis
Instructor
Een dame met hopen ervaring en kennis. Vraag Inge naar een regio of appellatie uit Frankrijk en gegarandeerd krijg je naast een stortvloed aan kennis ook een hoop verhalen en anekdotes. Dat maakt het geheel alleen maar sappiger en completer.
Inge heeft al meerdere jaren ervaring als lesgeefster bij Syntra en is dus de geknipte vrouw om jullie op te leiden van wijnliefhebbers tot echte kenners!
What do you listen to when uncorking?