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Dirk Vermeersch, From "Gran Turismo" to "Grand Terroir"
Without any diploma, without any prospect of a decent but incredibly enthusiastic job, Dirk Vermeersch dreams above all of a career in motorsport. In 1975, as a young taxi driver, he took part in local races with a borrowed VW Polo and barely two years later won the 24 Hours of Zolder, while being, the same year, the reserve driver for the winning car at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
From this moment, he becomes a professional car racer.
After numerous victories and titles, Dirk suffered a serious accident during a rally in 1986 and found himself financially ruined. He tightens his belt a notch and launches into the operation of a service station, where he simultaneously trades in used cars. His dream of becoming a dealership of a leading car brand comes true three years later.
Dirk becomes the official Lancia and Maserati dealer in Schilde, near Antwerp.
In 1999, he managed to sell the concession at a good price. Although retirement awaits him, Dirk is incapable of spending his time doing nothing. First, he unearthed a ruin in Drôme Provençale, then created a construction company to transform the dilapidated building into one of the most beautiful and largest properties in the region. A third dream comes true: Dirk and his family run bed and breakfasts in Provence together.
Near the ruins, a small plot of old Carignan caught his eye and it was as an autodidact that he began to prune and plow the newly acquired plot.
Before the family realizes it, Dirk becomes a winemaker.
Another dream come true. His first LePlan-Vermeersch GT-S 2003 obtained 2 stars in the Guide Hachette des Vins and the famous Wine Lawyer Robert Parker awarded 94/100 points for his very first LePlan-Vermeersch GT-1 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006.
Meanwhile, his daughter Ann goes to the local oenology school in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region to learn her trade. It was there that she met her future husband. Sébastien Barbara is a former rugby player, motorcycle enthusiast and rock musician.
In 2005, they both joined Domaine LePlan-Vermeersch.
Due to the expansion of the estate's activity, the small cellar fitted out in the middle of the gites is becoming too small, it is time to move up a gear.
In 2009 the Vermeersch family then decided to sell the buildings in order to build a new, more modern and more functional cellar in Suze la Rousse in the Grand Bois district.
The new cellar is a modern and practical building, built in an industrial style, easy to modulate and maintain. Thus, it is in the fall of 2010 that it welcomes its first vintage.
For the sake of ecology, the family also decided to cover the entire roof with photovoltaic panels.
From 2011, the new winery is fully operational and the family decides to expand its range to be able to meet the growing demand by concluding agreements with neighboring winemakers to buy grapes and even finished wines.
Without any diploma, without any prospect of a decent but incredibly enthusiastic job, Dirk Vermeersch dreams above all of a career in motorsport. In 1975, as a young taxi driver, he took part in local races with a borrowed VW Polo and barely two years later won the 24 Hours of Zolder, while being, the same year, the reserve driver for the winning car at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
From this moment, he becomes a professional car racer.
After numerous victories and titles, Dirk suffered a serious accident during a rally in 1986 and found himself financially ruined. He tightens his belt a notch and launches into the operation of a service station, where he simultaneously trades in used cars. His dream of becoming a dealership of a leading car brand comes true three years later.
Dirk becomes the official Lancia and Maserati dealer in Schilde, near Antwerp.
In 1999, he managed to sell the concession at a good price. Although retirement awaits him, Dirk is incapable of spending his time doing nothing. First, he unearthed a ruin in Drôme Provençale, then created a construction company to transform the dilapidated building into one of the most beautiful and largest properties in the region. A third dream comes true: Dirk and his family run bed and breakfasts in Provence together.
Near the ruins, a small plot of old Carignan caught his eye and it was as an autodidact that he began to prune and plow the newly acquired plot.
Before the family realizes it, Dirk becomes a winemaker.
Another dream come true. His first LePlan-Vermeersch GT-S 2003 obtained 2 stars in the Guide Hachette des Vins and the famous Wine Lawyer Robert Parker awarded 94/100 points for his very first LePlan-Vermeersch GT-1 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006.
Meanwhile, his daughter Ann goes to the local oenology school in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region to learn her trade. It was there that she met her future husband. Sébastien Barbara is a former rugby player, motorcycle enthusiast and rock musician.
In 2005, they both joined Domaine LePlan-Vermeersch.
Due to the expansion of the estate's activity, the small cellar fitted out in the middle of the gites is becoming too small, it is time to move up a gear.
In 2009 the Vermeersch family then decided to sell the buildings in order to build a new, more modern and more functional cellar in Suze la Rousse in the Grand Bois district.
The new cellar is a modern and practical building, built in an industrial style, easy to modulate and maintain. Thus, it is in the fall of 2010 that it welcomes its first vintage.
For the sake of ecology, the family also decided to cover the entire roof with photovoltaic panels.
From 2011, the new winery is fully operational and the family decides to expand its range to be able to meet the growing demand by concluding agreements with neighboring winemakers to buy grapes and even finished wines.
