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The VinoSophers

 

The idea of vinosophy is of course almost self-explaining, as it is a simple compound of the words vinology and philosophy. So in trying to understand it more deeply we need to go back to both fields of expertise. Vinology then is the study of wine and winemaking. Philosophy on the other hand can be described as the quest for understanding or a reasoned pursuit of the more fundamental truths. This brings it to the summation that vino-sophy is the unfolding of insights into the more fundamental truths about reality, with wine as the frame of reference. To put it another way: a vinosopher is someone who uses the world of wine as a gateway to express knowledge and wisdom about the nature of reality.

In doing so it led me to become active as an author, writer, judge, speaker, broker, educator and list curator in the constantly evolving field of wine.

Services

My activities and services as vinosopher can be best be qualified as:

Writer
As a writer I focus on vinosophical articles for various publications, online and print. The philosophical perspective used makes the articles original and illuminating. This unique point of view is for many mind-expanding and inspiring and all articles are in accordance with my trademark writing style: pristine and at the same time thought-provoking.

As a writer I am available for editorial and promotional articles with a vinosophical touch.

Judge
I am an independent judge in the Glass of Bubbly Awards, a London based competition of sparkling wines from all over the world. This is an annual event in which every wine is tasted blind for it’s quality and faithfulness to style. There are multiple classes with corresponding awards. The competition receives wide media coverage in press as well as social media.

As a qualified wine taster I am available for judging in national as well as international wine competitions.

Speaker
The best you can do with wine is to drink it, but second best is to talk about it. And as I have the talent to make a long story of any short story, I make myself available for thought provoking vinosophical introductions. These introductions are original, entertaining and tantalizing.

So feel free to invite me for a pioneering introduction or lecture on the barely explored territory of vinosophy.

Broker
Having a wide international network of wine experts, traders and connoisseurs I also act as intermediary for reselling or buy up of wine collections. This can be done on the basis of tailor-made conditions. The focus is on fine wines with aging history or perspective.

Hence, just contact me for any suggestions to resell your fine wine collection when relevant.

Wine tasting educator
As wine professional I arrange wine tastings to teach people about wine. The teaching is twofold. First, to help them develop insight in the factors underlying the aspects such as flavors, aromas, textures and overall quality. Secondly, to make them aware of their personal preferences regarding distinctive taste characteristics of wines. This gives them insight into which type of wines they prefer because of which characteristics. With this knowledge they can make substantiated decisions about the wines they personally like.

Ergo, for a vibrant and inspiring tasting with educational elements feel invited to contact.

Wine List Curator
As a hospitality entrepreneur, you generally have the responsibility for managing an appealing wine list. This requires knowledge of grape varieties, wine styles from different wine regions, as well as food and wine pairing, in order to offer a suitable wine experience for customers. As a wine list curator, I can select suitable wines, put together a wine list or update it for you. With this service you are assured of a balanced wine program with which you can offer your customers a top-quality wine experience.

So, if you would like to be relieved of this crucial responsibility, please contact me.

Books

Existence Uncorcked (2026)

There are wine books that teach you how to taste, and philosophy books that teach you how to think. Existence Uncorked: From perception to Precense is written as if those two tasks were always the same task — because it quietly insists that they are.

This is not a book about wine as a topic, but wine as a method: a disciplined, sensuous way to investigate what it means to be here at all. The glass becomes a mirror. The aroma becomes a doorway. And the familiar rituals of pouring, swirling, and sipping are reframed as a kind of contemplative technology — capable of revealing not merely flavors, but assumptions.

What makes Existence Uncorked stand out is its refusal to choose between the technical and the transcendent. It treats the physical reality of wine with respect — fermentation, perception, context, memory — yet it keeps pressing toward the deeper question: what, exactly, is “reality” in the first place, if every experience of it arrives inside consciousness? In that sense, the book is not trying to romanticize wine; it is trying to sober up the reader’s worldview.

The writing moves with an intentional rhythm: grounded observation, then widening implication — like a finish that keeps unfolding long after the sip. It does not preach. It invites. And it repeatedly returns to a single, disarming proposition: that the real transformation is not in the wine, but in the one who tastes.

To order the book, go to Amazon.

The VinoSopher’s Vineyard (2025)

The VinoSopher’s Vineyard: Uncorking Reality, One Sip at a Time, is a contemplative sequel to the book VinoSophy: Cracking the Myths about Wine (see below). This new work offers a unique journey through wine, wonder and the deeper rhythms of being. Each reflection in the book is like a harvest from an inner vineyard—thoughts that have ripened into meaning. Rather than offering wine facts or tasting notes, this book invites you to explore how wine can serve as a metaphor for life, mind and truth.

Using wine as a mirror, The VinoSopher’s Vineyard guides the reader in the art of conscious living. It blends personal insight with metaphysical thought, revealing wine as a doorway to deeper self-understanding. Season by season, sip by sip, the reflections encourage slow reading and deeper contemplation.

This book is ideal for wine lovers and thinkers alike — anyone curious about life’s deeper meaning. It inspires a shift in perspective: from drinking wine to being awakened by it.

To order the book, go to Amazon.

VinoSophy: Cracking the Myths about Wine (2024)

VinoSophy: Cracking the myths about Wine is the world’s first genuine vinosophical book. The book explores various aspects of wine in a keen analytical, but at the same time recognizable and intriguing way. It firstly enquires the essence of what we initially see as a normal intrinsic or attributed quality of wine. Secondly the findings are reviewed from a more philosophical or esoteric perspective presenting a much deeper understanding of the world around us. In this way the readers are guided, chapter by chapter, in the art of viewing wine from a completely new perspective. An approach which on the one hand deepens ones understanding about wine. But on the other hand does it describe wine and wine-related elements using profound ancient wisdom. As such this perspective uses wine as the allegory for everything we experience. As an approach it blends modern scientific understanding with esoteric knowledge, aiming to strike a balance between more technical information regarding wine and ancient wisdom about life and the cosmos as a whole. In that way ‘Vinosophy: Cracking the Myths about Wine’ unravels in each chapter new elements of the mysterie of existence.

To order the book, go to Amazon.

Articles

My vinosophiocal articles focus on the nature of wine itself and the proces of wine making as well as wine consumption. All approached from a philosophical perspective, so investigating the more intrinsic aspects. Each step in my quest for understanding the more fundamental truths about wine starts with a question. And by reasoned pursuit I try to reveal new insights which hopefully also inspire others in there quest for the truth.

Community

“The VinoSophers”

Vinosophy is a way of looking at wine in which the understanding of the underlying reality of existence is deepened. In order to expand this vision Corné founded an online platform: The VinoSophers. On this platform, substantive vinosophical contributions are placed, but also opinion polls, inspiring quotes, poems and images. All of this is aimed at mutual substantive interaction en deepening of the potential of this new perspective.

The format of a LinkedIn group has been chosen as the environment, so that first of all, worldwide connections are found with wine professionals, but also experts and those interested in the field of philosophy and worldviews. In the past period, the LinkedIn group ‘The VinoSophers’ has developed into an active circle of professionals who further deepen and broaden the vinosophical perspective.

The aim is to introduce as many interested parties as possible to this view, so that they can contribute to a wider dissemination of knowledge, insights and wisdom. The ultimate goal is to inspire others about the mystery of existence through information about the world of wine.

The Vinosophers is a public LinkedIn group in which anyone can participate through his/her LinkedIn account. If you want to join, click on The VinoSophers emblem and be welcome.

Library

“Existence Uncorcked: From Perception to Precense” by Corné van Nijhuis (2026)

In my search for knowledge and wisdom about the more fundamental nature of wine and the associated existential meaning I came across various inspiring books. The most relevant are listed below, including the reviews as shown on Amazon.com

There are wine books that teach you how to taste, and philosophy books that teach you how to think. Existence Uncorked: From perception to Precense is written as if those two tasks were always the same task — because it quietly insists that they are.

This is not a book about wine as a topic, but wine as a method: a disciplined, sensuous way to investigate what it means to be here at all. The glass becomes a mirror. The aroma becomes a doorway. And the familiar rituals of pouring, swirling, and sipping are reframed as a kind of contemplative technology — capable of revealing not merely flavors, but assumptions.

What makes Existence Uncorked stand out is its refusal to choose between the technical and the transcendent. It treats the physical reality of wine with respect — fermentation, perception, context, memory — yet it keeps pressing toward the deeper question: what, exactly, is “reality” in the first place, if every experience of it arrives inside consciousness? In that sense, the book is not trying to romanticize wine; it is trying to sober up the reader’s worldview.

The writing moves with an intentional rhythm: grounded observation, then widening implication — like a finish that keeps unfolding long after the sip. It does not preach. It invites. And it repeatedly returns to a single, disarming proposition: that the real transformation is not in the wine, but in the one who tastes.

“Vinosophy: Cracking the Myths about Wine” by Corné van Nijhuis (2024)

Vinosophy: Cracking the myths about wine explores various aspects of wine in a keen analytical, but at the same time recognizable and intriguing way. It firstly enquires the essence of what we initially see as a normal intrinsic or attributed quality of wine. Secondly the findings are reviewed from a more philosophical or esoteric perspective presenting a much deeper understanding of the world around us. In this way the readers are guided, chapter by chapter, in the art of viewing wine from a completely new perspective. An approach which on the one hand deepens ones understanding about wine. But on the other hand does it describe wine and wine-related elements using profound ancient wisdom. As such this perspective uses wine as the allegory for everything we experience. As an approach it blends modern scientific understanding with esoteric knowledge, aiming to strike a balance between more technical information regarding wine and ancient wisdom about life and the cosmos as a whole. In that way ‘Vinosophy: Cracking the Myths about Wine’ unravels in each chapter new elements of the mysterie of existence.

“Philosophical reflections about wine” by David Sandua (2024)

This book invites the reader on an intellectual and sensory journey through the world of wine. It explores how something as common as a glass of wine can open doors to profound philosophical reflections. Throughout its pages, it discusses how wine, beyond being a simple beverage with aesthetic and hedonistic qualities, can be a catalyst for questioning our subjective experiences, investigating the nature of pleasure, and discovering the complexities of perception and aesthetics. The book seeks to demonstrate that even the most everyday aspects of life are deeply intertwined with significant philosophical questions, thus offering a new perspective on wine and its place in our understanding of the world.

“The Buddha’s Guide to Wine Tasting: Spirituality in a Glass“ by Charles Kent (2023)

The Buddha’s Guide to Wine Tasting: Spirituality in a Glass is a profound exploration where viniculture and spirituality intertwine. Written by the innovative sommelier and mindfulness teacher, Charles Kent, this Special Report invites you to embark on an illuminating journey of sensory delight and self-discovery.

With each chapter, Kent invites you to delve into an experience that marries the enchanting world of wine with the profound teachings of Buddhism. From understanding the metaphysics of wine to cultivating sensory awareness, and connecting the tasting notes with life’s fleeting moments, this guide offers a soulful and unique approach to understanding and relishing wine.

Through this volume, you will unveil:

• The art of mindful wine tasting
• How experiencing the richness and diversity of flavors can lead to heightened self-awareness
• The concept of understanding life causality through the taste of wines
• How the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism find reflection in a glass of wine

Whether you are an eager wine connoisseur, a spiritual seeker, or simply curious about the union of these two worlds, this Special Report serves as your perfect guide. Life has never tasted this beautiful! Every page, like every sip, promises you a path to mindfulness and tranquility.

“Beauty and the Yeast: A Philosophy of Wine, Life, and Love” by Dwight Furrow (2020)

Wine is more than a beverage. Like great works of art, great wines have originality, dynamism, emotional resonance, and personality. Discover how wine can be so expressive in this remarkable philosophical romp through the aesthetics of wine production and wine appreciation. Previous work on the philosophy of wine has shown wine to be an important source of aesthetic experiences. “Beauty and the Yeast” takes this argument in surprising new directions. It analyzes wine as an expressive, living organism that challenges our assumptions about creativity, beauty, good taste, and objectivity and explains why the changing landscape of wine requires that we rethink the role of established wine traditions. The book offers unique philosophical insights into the nature of wine appreciation, wine language, and wine criticism, and explores a novel approach to wine tasting that reveals our emotional attachment to wine. After reading, you will never taste wine the same way again.

“The Philosophy of Wine” by Ruth Ball (2019)

An apt gift for oenophiles everywhere, this book includes chapters on the development of wine production, from the use of casks to bottles to the switch from feet to presses, as well as tracing the global shift of wine production from traditional wine-producing regions to emerging wine exporters. With a selective focus on unexpected facts and lesser-known characters connected with wine, from the Greek gods of wine to the monks who created Champagne and the ingenious ways French winemakers protected priceless vintages during wartime, this gift edition explores the historical influences that have shaped our drinking taste.

“The Spirit of Wine: Finding Religion in the Fruit of the Vine” by Stephen Lloyd-Moffet (2019)

The Spirit of Wine invites readers to discover how the fruit of the vine can deepen one’s spiritual life. Internationally acclaimed professor of comparative world religions Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffett reveals how a life filled with wine can act as a surrogate for traditional religions and spiritual communities. Whether you are a novice in the Church of Wine or already a devotee, this book will deepen your appreciation for wine by exploring the rich history of oenological conversions, mystical wine experiences, and ancient wine rituals. The book concludes with practical tips, including the secret to creating vibrant wine communities and the virtue of monastically-inspired spiritual drunkenness. Finally, a book that pairs perfectly with a glass of wine.Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffett is a professor of Religious Studies at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, amateur winemaker, and caretaker of a backyard vineyard. He holds a Master of Arts and PhD in Religious Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Theology from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. His past research includes studies on comparative mysticism, asceticism, the origins of Christianity, and the cognitive science behind religious experience.

”The Tao of Wine: Wine and the Gateway to Wisdom” by Michael Maderia (2017)

Wine has contributed to man’s thoughts since the Stone Age by helping him access a gateway into his unconscious mind where creative inspiration lay waiting. The Tao of Wine looks at wine from this historic philosophical point of view, touching upon subjects as diverse as psychology, mythology, science, music, astronomy and biodynamics in the process. By understanding this relationship between wine and thought, we can continue to use wine in a similar constructive way today.

“The Philosophy of Wine: A Case of Truth, Beauty and Intoxication” by Cain Todd (2014)

Does this Bonnes-Mares really have notes of chocolate, truffle, violets, and merde de cheval? Can wines really be feminine, profound, pretentious, or cheeky? Can they express emotion or terroir? Do the judgements of ‘experts’ have any objective validity? Is a great wine a work of art? Questions like these will have been entertained by anyone who has ever puzzled over the tasting notes of a wine writer, or been baffled by the response of a sommelier to an innocent question. Only recently, however, have they received the serious philosophical attention they deserve. Touching on issues in metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, and aesthetics, this book provides a clear and engaging discussion of the philosophical significance of wine that will be accessible to all wine lovers, specialists and non-specialists alike. The author offers throughout a sustained defence of the objectivity of wine judgements, a demystification of the nature of expertise, and a theory of the aesthetic value of wine and its appreciation.

“Wine and Philosophy: A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking” by Fritz Allhoff (2007)

The Greek word sympotein means literally “to drink together”. In the era of Socrates and Plato, the symposium was a central part of Greek culture: a gathering where men consumed wine freely and debated the issues of the day. Philosophers, wine critics, and winemakers share their passion for wine through well-crafted essays that explore wine’s deeper meaning, nature, and significance. Wine & Philosophy offers a playfully fresh, insightful – and, at times, controversial – perspective on the philosophical dimensions of wine and wine appreciation. Joining Beer & Philosophy and Food & Philosophy in the “Epicurean Trilogy”, the essays herein celebrate the ongoing relationship between wine and philosophical reflection, discussion, and debate.

Press

Interview Glass of Bubbly, January 2025

“Venturing into the world of Vinosophy with Corné van Nijhuis in his book, Vinosophy – Cracking the Myths about Wine, will give you insight into a deeper understanding of how we all enjoy wine, including whether wine gets better with age, is wine an expression of art, and do we all experience the same taste when drinking wine?”

Read more…

Interview WineLand, July 2024

“For as long as he can remember, Corné van Nijhuis has been fascinated by the world of wine. Combining his love for wine with an interest in philosophy has given birth to a unique pursuit he calls vinosophy.”

Read more…

About

Contact

Get in touch via email or phone, or leave a message below.

corne.van.nijhuis@vinosopher.com
+31 6 10 94 93 39

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