Dirk Vermeersch
Founder, Winemaker & Rally Car Driver

The Story
“A racing car driver needs passion, precision, balance, patience, a methodical approach, takes calculated risks, make quick decisions, and has team spirit… so does a winemaker.”
Dirk GT Vermeersch, from "Gran Turismo" to... "Grand Terroir".
Incredibly enthusiast as ever, but without any diploma, without any prospect of a decent job, Dirk Vermeersch dreams, as a young taxi driver, chiefly about making a career in car sport racing. Barely two years after starting in local races with a street legal car, he wins the 24 Hours of Zolder and, that same year 1977, he is the reserve driver of the victorious car in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. As of that moment, he becomes a professional racing car driver. After a long and successful career in car sport a serious rally accident in 1986 put an end on his racing activities. Dirk is down and out. He takes a step back and embarks on the operation of a petrol station, where he deals simultaneously in used cars. Three years later, his secret wishes to become the dealer of a top-ranking make of cars comes true. Dirk (DVA) becomes a official Lancia and Maserati dealer in Schilde, near Antwerp. In 1999, he manages to sell the dealership at a handsome price. Retirement is beckoning, but Dirk is unable to sit idle. Firstly, he gets hold of a ruin in the South of France, and then he starts a construction firm to renovate the wreck, turning it into one of the most beautiful and largest buildings in the region. A third dream comes true: Dirk and his familly are running together a B&B in Provence. Next to the ruin, a small plot of old Carignan vines in winking. Dirk begins enthusiastically to prune and plough like an accomplished autodidact, before his family knows, he has become a full-time winemaker. Another dream comes true. His first LePlan-Vermeersch GT-S 2003 is awarded 2 stars in the Hachette Guide des Vins and Robert Parker, the famous American Wine Advocate, give his LePlan-Vermeersch GT-1 Chateauneuf-du-Pape 94/100 points.The rest is history…
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