
WINE UNITES

A plethora of books have been written about wine. A secular drink, almost as old as humanity itself and closely linked to our cultural history. Even today, when science increasingly unravels the underlying physical and chemical processes in winemaking, wine does not yield all its secrets and keeps fascinating us, with its complex aromas and flavours, and its ability to impassion us. Wine balances on the border between art and science: the precision of an engineer is sometimes required to obtain a good product, yet without a passionate, nearly artistic drive, one gets "soulless" wines.
The beauty of wine is that it softens the sharp edges of life and it brings people together. We tend to remember with whom we drank the best bottles, and what we talked about. They need not always be epxensive or sophisticated wines, by the way. A well-made fruity wine on a summer barbecue with friends can be a delight.
The world of wine, unfortunately often plagued by snobism, with its own tendencies, grand narratives, myths and personalities, fascinates me since a long time. I would like to share this passion with you, via tastings and courses of all kinds, and as from now also with a number of wines that I believe in.
Referring to "florilegium", the Latin word for "anthology", Vinilegium offers a carefully selected set of wines, which are off the beaten track of the supermarket offer.

STIJN VERLEYEN
- Studied linguistics and literature (Romance languages) at the Catholic University of Leuven, obtaining a PhD in French linguistics in 2005
- Completed a sommelier's degree at the Eigentijds Vlaams Wijninstituut (Syntra West) in 2014
- Also holds the Advanced Certificate (level 3) of the Wines and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) (via WineWise) and is currently following the internationally reputed WSET diploma course
- holds a master's certificate (certified educator) in the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon, France.
- Teaches wine courses at Syntra - Brussels, campus Tour and Taxis since 2014.