Who we are

Nicolas Belfrage has spent half a lifetime in the Italian wine trade, writing four books and countless articles on all aspects of the subject. He has been a Master of Wine since 1980. He has been 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 has 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 currently spends half his time in Italy, and half in London, whilst being challenged by the Institute of Masters 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 - fondly referred to in the office as D2 - was born in Valence, France, into a half-French, half-Italian family. Even afterwards when the family returned to Puglia in southern Italy, he maintained his French connection, returning often. Now trilingual (as he has been living and working in London for ten years), he joins the Vinexus team with a wealth of spirit and wine-related knowledge, having previously worked for the likes of Caprice Holdings and Oddbins as assistant manager. Domenico has already successfully completed a Sommelier course at the AIS (Italian Sommelier’s Association) in London, and is also studying for the WSET diploma.

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.