Jeroen Vonk

I think one good bottle says more than a night of forgettable wine.

That sounds like a preference. It's closer to a conviction. Drinking less and drinking better aren't two things to me. They're the same thing. That's the idea behind everything I write, taste, and talk about.

Wine holds my attention because it's so specific. A single vineyard, a particular harvest, a decision made in the cellar. Those aren't footnotes, they're the story. On VinoVonk, I try to tell that story clearly. With depth where it's needed, without padding where it isn't.

Champagne is my specialism. Greek wines, biodynamic production and alcohol-free drinks are regular parts of what I cover. Not as niche topics, but because they show where wine is actually going.

The questions never stop. How does this bottle get from the soil into my glass? Why does one Chardonnay move me and another leave me cold, with the same grape? What does the price say? Is more expensive always better, or are you mostly paying for reputation? Can you taste whether a wine comes from South Africa or France, blind, without the label? There are no ready-made answers. They come from tasting, reading, watching what a winemaker does. That's why I started SDEN 3 in 2021 at Wijncursus Amsterdam, under Heiko Oberman.

The diploma came with six out of six wines tasted blind, correctly. That was a starting point, not an ending. The Story of My Wine asked me to write, then Anne-Wies. Meanwhile my own channels grew: a personal Instagram, a wine Instagram under @vinovonk, this website, and eventually a video podcast on Spotify and YouTube. In 2024 I earned WSET Level 3 at Amsterdam Wine Academy, under Wouter Aalst. A year later came CIVC Level 4 Champagne Specialist at Wijncampus, under Anja Wondenhoff. The curiosity from 2021 is still there. I just know better where to look now.

Sparks by VinoVonk is my podcast. Honest conversations with the people behind the bottle.

Outside VinoVonk, I write for Anne-Wies, Winelife and Story of My Wine.