Nicolas Belfrage spent half a lifetime in the Italian wine trade, writing four books and countless articles on all aspects of the subject. He had been a Master of Wine since 1980. He was involved commercially in wine since the late 1960s as buyer for various specialist wine merchants, including the Grapevine, the Market and Winecellars - for which he was also a Director. In the mid-1990s he founded Vinexus LTD from his home in Tuscany. 

After several forays to Italy, Nick emigrated in 1996 and inevitably became involved in wine, working for a Puglian winery until 2003. After exploring the length and breadth of Italy’s vineyards from Alto Adige to Sicily, he returned to London with a view to disseminating the message of the exciting world of Italian wine to international markets. After a short experience at Bibendum as an Italian specialist, he started working with Nicolas Belfrage MW in 2006. Since then, he had the privilege of working with this significant protagonist of the modern Italian wine époque, roaming Italy's vast expanse of DOCs and DOCGs, consulting with producers and enologists. He took Vinexus from strength to strength under his close guidance, and in 2020 he became Vinexus' second Master of Wine.

Domenico started very early in the wine world... Already at the age of 3, he was crushing grapes with his father in Calabria, Southern Italy, a region once known as Enotria, or 'land of the vines'. He has been working for Vinexus since 2008. His responsibilities include managing the Asian and Australian markets for NPD, promoting and distributing all our producers, as well as supporting Nicholas Belfrage and Nick Bielak in the UK and Europe. By no means restricted to Italy, Domy is also fascinated by Spanish wines. He is currently doing the diploma course at the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET).

Domenico Girolamo, fondly referred to in the office as D2, was born in the heart of the Rhone Valley in Valence, France, to a half-French half-Italian family with Apulian origins. Even after his family made the move to Puglia in the ‘the heel of Italy’, he maintained his French connection and returns often. Now a trilingual, after having lived and worked in the UK for over 15 years, Domenico joined the Vinexus team in 2013 with a wealth of spirit and wine-related knowledge. Domenico successfully completed the WSET Diploma in 2022.

Gionatan is from the rolling hills of Basilicata, one the most unspoiled regions of Italy, where the famed local Aglianico grows out of volcanic soils. He studied Sociology and specialised in buying groups and non-market economies. In 2006 he moved to London, shortly afterwards becoming store manager of Oddbins wine merchants. He joined Vinexus in 2014 and is now studying for the WSET diploma.

Born in Bari, Francesco specialised in Accountancy at school, but has nursed a passion for the world of wine for many years. A true Barese, he is particularly proud of the native grape varieties (Negroamaro, Primitivo, Nero di Troia, Bombino Bianco ... ) used to make Puglia's signature wines! Now a fully-fledged member of the Vinexus team, Francesco is in charge of our accounts, and relishes the challenge of promoting his region and country's wines globally.

Rosa, who studied Italian Literature in Bari, joined Vinexus in 2012 to assist with administration. A talented musician and artist, her fascination with Italian wine has grown exponentially since coming on board. Now enthusiastically joining the regular office wine tasting sessions, she has come to particularly enjoy observing the complexity and diversity between Italy's broad range of wines.

Born in Marsala, Sicily, Gaetano studied law and psychology. He moved to London in 2013 where he has worked in the fascinating world of wine by working for Grand Cru co., an independent wine merchant. He is now studying towards the WSET qualifications.

Antonella is the administrative heart of Vinexus having worked in other sectors before joining the Vinexus team. However, she is deeply passionate about her native Puglia and especially wines from Puglia’s only DOCG – Castel del Monte.