Meet our founder

Meet our founder, Benjamin Vuorinen

Benjamin's passion for wine ignited during his time working at a top UK wine retailer, where he had the opportunity to taste an extensive selection of wines. Deciding that wine was the career for him, his journey led him to one of the UK's largest wine distributors before later settling in at a fine wine merchant where he worked his way up to Senior Fine Wine Buyer. His work brought him to live in Asia's fine wine capitals; Hong Kong and Singapore where he gained a unique and first-hand experience of Asia's fine wine scene.

Now with over a decade's worth of experience, Benjamin founded Amsterdam-based wine merchant, the Fine Wine Library to help Dutch wine lovers and collectors to buy, store and enjoy their favourite wines with a modern technological touch. His extensive tours of renowned wine regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, California, and Tuscany, coupled with annual en primeur tastings, have equipped him with a profound understanding of the fine wine world, which he is eager to share. Originally a Stockholm native, Benjamin likes to travel, eat at fine-dining restaurants as well as do photography in his spare time. You'll often find him drinking a glass of wine or two at Cafe Parlotte or Oocker in Amsterdam.

The wines that ignited the passion:

Every wine lover embarks on their own journey but here are some great wines that have shaped how I perceive fine wine.

Pichon Baron 1990

I first started my fine wine career in London working for one of the larger distributors in the fine wine department. I was fortunate enough to help pour at some BYO/Bring Your Own wine dinners where clients would bring some exceptional wines from their cellars to share with one another. At one such dinner, some top wines included things like Sassicaia, top Bordeaux growths and incredibly sought-after Burgundy Grand Cru all from the 1990s being poured. I'd spent a long time reading up on Bordeaux as a wine region and how the aromas can develop with age. Having been to a couple of years worth of Bordeaux En Primeur tastings and being new to the game, such aromas were hard to imagine in the 2009 and 2010 vintages which were powerful and tannic. Upon tasting the Pichon Baron 1990 one of these BYO events, however, it all clicked and made sense as to why people buy, collect and store wine for 25-odd years before drinking it. Cedar, cigar box, tobacco, smoke, graphite, it was all there. It's a bottle I will not quickly forget and showcased the true magic of Bordeaux.

Eben Sadie Palladius 2018

I have a great friend whom I often go to dinner with and we often escalate and enjoy it too much. I'm sure most wine people have such a friend and on this occasion, we were checking out a newly opened spot in town, De Juwelier on Utrechtsestraat in Amsterdam. "Did you try Palladius from Eben Sadie yet?" he asked. Knowing of the legend but never having tasted it due to it being tightly allocated I replied no. This was however the moment to get acquainted and it was easy to see what the fuss was about. Waxy in texture, morish, fresh, saline. Even in writing this note, my mouth is salivating in its memory. It showcased just how good New World wine can be.

Vega Sicilia Unico 1960

I was tasting and getting to know a client and he took a bottle out of his wine fridge shrugging, he asked shall we try this one? It left such a big impact on me that I kept thinking about the bottle for several weeks afterwards. Upon opening the bottle the wine was incredibly shy, quite thin and I wondered if this wine had passed its best. 30 minutes later the wine had transformed and roared to life showing how important a decant can be, especially for something that was over 60 years old.

Fontaine-Gagnard Le Montrachet 2020

I have been fortunate enough to taste at the cellar of Celine Fontaine for a few years and in the last few years, the wines have been getting better and better. Le Montrachet is widely regarded as one of, if not the best white wine in the world. It's difficult to exactly put a finger on what makes it so great and in one such tasting, I asked the assistant winemaker how he would describe the wine. He shrugged and said "How do you describe a vibration?" and it all clicked. Le Montrachet transcends more than mere words. For good measure, we also tried the Fontaine-Gagnard Batard-Montrachet 1997 blind and wow did it carry a tremendous amount of energy and freshness.

Sine Qua Non Male 2013

When Robert Parker highlighted Sine Qua Non, its fame and prices skyrocketed, making it unattainable for the average wine lover with rumours of a five-year wait for a mere few bottles. I did however manage to track down a bottle from a friend who was on the mailing list already. After a swap of some Grand Cru Burgundy, I had my chance to try Sine Qua Non for the first time. The texture and silkiness brought a new meaning to the phrase "iron fist in a velvet glove". It is easy to see what the magic winemaking of Manfred Krankl is all about. A true icon making unique wines.

Cristal 2008

There was a lot of excitement when the 2008s hit the market with prices and scores both being incredibly high. After a few years of cellaring and the restraint to open a bottle finally reached its end, I opened a bottle. Certain wines will stop you in your tracks when you taste them and Cristal 2008 did just that. Chef de cave Jean-Baptiste makes some of the most surreal expressions of grande marques champagne today.

Porseleinberg Syrah - a vertical tasting of all vintages ever made

I was lucky enough to have a seat at a one-of-a-kind tasting of every vintage of Porseleinberg Syrah from 2010-2020. The 2011 was never actually released to the public so it was even more special to be able to taste it. Drawing inspiration from Domaine Jamet, the 2018 vintage was the first vintage to use a submerged cap and the quality of the wine jumps in this vintage. Porseleinberg produces one of my favourite New World Syrah's and I confidently put a case in my cellar each year.

Barbadillo Founders Barrel - Sherry

Squeezing in winery visits when on holiday is always a fantastic idea, perhaps not for the girlfriend or boyfriend who needs to be kept waiting whilst you ask a million questions. On one such visit to Barbadillo in Jerez, after an extended tour that the usual punters might not get, we walk into very small cellar with huge bars on it. This is where we keep the extra special casks they explain. Supposedly the cellar masters had hidden the original barrels from the founder Manuel Barbadillo at his request and they were kept for over 100 years in the same barrel. We were fortunate enough to be offered a small sample of this incredibly rare cuvee. The wine had such vitality and intensity with both the aromas and acidity intensified with age when kept in the same barrel. It was a true honour to try a piece of history. Tasting the range also highlighted just how good Sherry can be when made by the right people.