Vilma Mazaite is the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the famous Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colorado. She has a diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, has been awarded the Advanced Sommelier title and is on her way to becoming the Master Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. In this final part of the series, transcribed from an interview by our reviewer Vilma Darling, Vilma shares some of her knowledge with Bon Vivant.

Part 3: When in the Shop… Vilma’s Crash Course on Popular Grape Varieties

If you know the main characteristics of some of the most popular grape varieties, you’ll find it much easier to navigate in the shop. You could refer to a book or check on the internet which flavours are typical to certain grapes, otherwise, read on for a crash course on the most popular wines.

Cabernet – has a specific structure, with lots of black current, cassis flavours, definitely high in tannins and high in acidity, which means it is a food friendly wine. Tannins in wine from Napa Valley will be overshadowed by fruit. Cabernet from the Old World usually develops more tobacco and leather aromas – for example, Cabernet form Bordeaux is more earth than fruit driven.

Merlot – almost opposite from Cabernet, Merlot has softer tannins and is less acidic, so it is a bit rounder and softer. It has plum aromas and is more fruit driven. People love Merlot wine; it’s a real crowd pleaser.

Pinot Noir – is always lighter, has good acidity and a medium body, with strawberry and red berry aromas versus black. It’s more tart, doesn’t have much of the tannins and so is smoother, more elegant and food friendly.

Nebbiolo – very, very tart. Barolo Barbesco made from Nebbiolo grapes is very high in acid and tannins. When grapes are high in tannins, you want to buy them a little bit older. When they get older, the tannins soften – the acidity of tannins mould together in a bottle and is much more appealing to drink.

That’s why Bordeaux wines are great to keep for longer. You put them away because the tannins can be a little bit too harsh in their youth, so a little older Bordeaux would be much more enjoyable.

Pinot Noir will also become a little bit softer and more elegant with age, so the tartiness and the acidity will mellow down. Some white Burgundies can age for many, many years. The tannins and the acidity of the sugar are the two key elements for wine to age. These are the preservatives that work their way into the wine flavour. As white Burgundy is very, very acidic, it ages extremely well.

German Riesling can age for a hundred years because of high sugar and will still be amazing.

Beaujolais Nouveau – very trendy, it comes out right after the harvest. The wine is very fruity and easy to drink. All Beaujolais are made from the Gamay grape, but Beaujolais wine from the 10 Grand Cru villages taste more like Burgundy.

Pinot Grigio – has medium acidity and medium body. It is tempting to say that people who like Pinot Grigio like very neutral whites or neutral wines that don’t have much of anything really. Some Pinot Grigio wines are better than others, but many are made in a very cheap way. It’s not my favourite thing to drink, but of course some Pinot Grigios are fantastic. For example, one of my favourites, Venica Pinot Grigio, is very good.

If you like Pinot Grigio, you might like wines that have similar characteristics. For example, Grüner Veltliner, can be a little bit spicier. Many Italian whites, such as Gavi de Gavi also have similar characteristics.

Chardonnay – it really depends where it comes from. A lot of Chardonnays now are made with active oak, so they are creamy and buttery. But Chardonnay from Burgundy is more mineral and acid than oak driven.

Sauvignon Blanc – is bright and has good acidity. It also has lots of grassy characteristics and smells like jalapeños, gooseberries and asparagus, especially if it’s from New Zealand. The most famous Sauvignon Blanc region is Sancerre in France and its wine is one of the best whites in the world; it’s really amazing!

Sauvignon Blanc isn’t normally aged in oak, so it is fresh and bright and food friendly, but of course as always, it depends on what area the wine comes from. Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is definitely going to be sharper and will have a little bit more of the jalapeño and gooseberry aromas while Sancerre wines posses all that greenness, but has more subtle flavours.

Champagne – sparkling wine was actually discovered in the South of France and not the Northern Champagne region. Today sparkling wines from the Champagne area are considered to be the finest in the world.

The area is quite small, but cold and perfect for sparkling wine as the grapes do not get too ripe and have lots of acidity. Champagne is made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes according to the traditional method, which is labour and money intensive. The second fermentation starts in an individual bottle, so you have to add yeast and sugar into each bottle to begin it.

Italian Prosecco is much cheaper, because both fermentations are done in huge tanks. Spanish Cava, however, is done according to the traditional method, but from different grapes than in the Champagne region.

Cristal Champagne, made by Roederer Champagne house is one of the most expensive because it is a special cuvee (best grape juice, cuvée is the first 2,050 litres of grape juice from 4,000 kg of grapes). Cristal was specially made for the Russian tsar and has only been sold commercially since 1945.

Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are red grapes, but of course you can make white wine from red grapes when you don’t leave contact with the skin (juice is white from all the grape varieties). Champagne made from only Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier grapes is sharper and has spicier aromas. Champagne made from only Chardonnay grapes is more creamy, yeasty and has rounder flavours. Rose champagne has more strawberry aromas and is sharper.

Cheers!

For further information on Vilma Mazaite, please click here to visit her blog. What’s your favourite wine? We would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave your comments below.

Vilma Mazaite is the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the famous Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colorado. She has a diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, has been awarded the Advanced Sommelier title and is on her way to becoming the Master Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. In this second part of a three part series, transcribed from an interview by our reviewer Vilma Darling, Vilma shares more of her knowledge with Bon Vivant.

Part 2: Vilma’s Guide to Basic Food & Wine Pairing

Acidity is the main ingredient for food and wine pairing. For me it’s very important, because I always have some wine with food. You can pair similar textures of food and wine or you can almost contrast them. For example, the classic pairing – spicy works well with something a little bit sweet, so German Riesling and spicy Thai food is a match made in heaven.

You could have some game meat with the same aromas in wine – gamey and spicy. For example, Syrah or Grenache, let’s say from Rhone, would go extremely well with game and would have enough acidity to elevate its flavours.

Creamy pasta can be great with creamy white wine – what goes better with cream than more cream? Well, it could also work well with good acidity light red, which would cut through the richness of the butter or cream of pasta sauce, like Pinot Noir from Burgundy or Nebbiolo from the Piedmont region in Italy.

When it comes to seafood, it depends of course, but if it is grilled, fresh seafood or fish with olive oil and lemon, then it should be white wine.

I don’t always enjoy the New World wines, because they are bigger, bolder and fruit driven. They are great to enjoy on their own, but when it comes to food, they can lack acidity. I prefer wines that are a little bit more lean and elegant, but that doesn’t mean that they are not full of flavour; they have so many layers if you really want to start analysing them.

That’s why I love Burgundy – a light and elegant style pairs well with food. Chablis or unoaked Chardonnay are bright and have amazing acidity, so you can pair them with oysters and with any type of seafood or salads. Chablis normally is unoaked, but if you go a little bit down South to Burgundy, you get Meursault which is normally round and smoky because of the oak influence and you can pair it with creamy pasta.

When I go out, I always choose a bottle of sparkling or a bottle of white that pairs well with the majority of foods, because I love to eat small plates. White wine always works well with food because of the acidity and its brightness. Lighter red is also always good and a safe option if you are not sure what you are going to eat.

Rosé is another wine that can be universal with food. If you are having different dishes such as tapas or not sure what to eat, a bottle of rosé is perfect.

If you drink certain wines without food you might not enjoy them, because they might be too sharp, acidic or tannic and will lose their value. Wines such as the very tart Sangiovese, the anic Nebbiolo or the acidic Burgundy require food to balance them out.

If you are not into food and wine pairing, do not worry and choose your favourite wines with any kind of food: The most important thing is to enjoy and trust your own palate.

For further information on Vilma Mazaite, please click here to visit her blog and keep an eye out for the final part of the guide, which will be posted shortly.

Vilma Mazaite is the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the famous Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colorado. She has a diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, has been awarded the Advanced Sommelier title and is on her way to becoming the Master Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. In this first part of a three part series, transcribed from an interview by our reviewer Vilma Darling, Vilma shares some of her knowledge with Bon Vivant.

Part 1: Vilma’s Wine Drinking Tips

1. Drink Champagne from a White Wine Glass

Champagne is my favourite wine; unfortunately a lot of people forget that champagne is actually a wine and not just some fizzy drink to make a toast with. I love to serve champagne in a white wine glass – even in the Champagne area of France and some of the best restaurants, it isn’t served in a flute. Champagne is one the finest wines in the world and can be enjoyed as such throughout the meal. The wider wine glass softens the bubbles, so you get a better taste of flavours.

Don’t save Champagne for special occasions or celebrations only. It has the highest acidity of all white wines and pairs well with food. Champagne has the combination of breadness, yeast and creaminess and is great with seafood, especially oysters. Certain Champagnes such as Krug, Bollinger and Vilmart are aged in oak, so they develop rich and creamy characteristics and can withstand any type of dish.

It is, however, worth maintaining tradition for toasts – then you can drink from a flute to help the Champagne to stay fizzy, which is great for surviving long speeches!

2. Buy ‘Grower Champagne’

The big champagne houses such as Veuve Clicquot or Moet & Chandon mass produce champagne and make millions of bottles. They do not grow enough grapes to satisfy the demand and have to buy them from the whole Champagne region. The NM letters (Négociant-Manipulant) on the label will tell you that the Champagne house sources the majority of their grapes.

I prefer to drink the ‘grower champagne’ – the Champagne produced by wine makers who grow their own grapes instead of selling them to big houses.

The initials RM (meaning Récoltant-Manipulant) mean that the champagne you bought or ordered was made by growers under their own label. RM champagnes are incredible and exclusive, but often cost less than the famous names.

3. Decant White & Red Wine

Decant old wine to help remove the sediments or if you want to achieve the right temperature or soften the acidity and tannins.

Old wine often has dead yeast or dead protein cells that are totally harmless, but might not be pleasant, on the bottom of your glass. Even white wine has crystals, which can actually be a good thing because the wine wasn’t stabilised with many chemicals or filtered too much and is therefore more natural.

Wine might be too cold when brought straight from the cellar, so decant to achieve the appropriate temperature.

Decant white and red wine to soften the acidity. I decant young white Burgundy wines because the air softens not only the flavour, but it helps to warm the wine up so you can truly enjoy the bouquet. Red Burgundy is served in big bowl glasses because of the same need for air, but some bottles could be far too elegant for decanting; it totally depends on the year or producer.

Red wines with high tannins and high acidity such as Cabernet, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo taste much better decanted.

4. Do Not Hesitate to Refuse Bad Wine in Restaurants

Wine can be spoilt when corked or oxidised. If you’ve never tried bad wine you probably wouldn’t know how horrible it tastes. Wine can be corked when bacteria gets into the cork – it will smell of mold and must.

Wine can get oxidised when left in the light or in a room with temperature variations, because it has to be kept in a stable climate. The air can also get through the cork and oxidise the wine. It will taste like vinegar and will smell of cider rather than wine.

You should return the bad wine, because drinking it would do no justice to the restaurant or the wine label. It’s impossible to enjoy corked or oxidized wine and you will never order the same bottle again.

5. Investigate the Lesser-Known Regions

If you want to find great wines at a good price, look into less famous areas. Let’s say, the ten Cru Beaujolais villages in France. I absolutely love one of the producers Marcel Lapierre from Morgon. Beaujolais have had a bad reputation for many years for making bubble gum like wines, but after you try such producers as Marcel Lapierre, it will become your favourite, I have no doubt.

There are other lesser-known areas in the expensive Burgundy region, such as Giverny, Mercurey or Macon. These places are off the beaten path but you may well be surprised by both the quality and the value of the wines.

Famous producers always make village wines or second label wines, so if you know a good producer, buy their second label wines if you want to save money. For example, Leroy which is a big famous Burgundy name, makes a regular, but great, Bourgogne. There is the Vezelay village next to the famous Chablis region in France where wine makers use the same grape variety (Chardonnay), but sell for much less. Try Domaine de la Cadette wines and you can thank me later!

I love Italy because it is the source of good wines that aren’t expensive at all. There are still lots of small areas that you can discover, such as the Marche region; also Puglia, Campania or Sicily. The grapes are often indigenous to that area and you might not have heard of them.

Spain also holds good value for money. I’ve recently fallen in love with Spanish whites, such as Albarino or Verdejo. Txakoli from the Basque country is unbelievable too – you almost never describe wine as salty, but Txakoli is a bit salty because the grapes grow so close to the ocean.

Of course, you might make a mistake and you’ll never buy that wine again, so play with small amounts of money. I never buy expensive wine, but always investigate areas that are close to famous wine producers, but nowhere near close to their prices. Open a map and look for regions that you haven’t come across before – you might be surprised.

6. Invest in Burgundy

If you want to invest in wine, buy only big names. The best ones come from Bordeaux and Burgundy in France. Barbaresco and Barolo in Italy can sometimes be good for investing, but Bordeaux wines will probably bring the best returns.

For further information on Vilma Mazaite, please click here to visit her blog.

You can click here to read Part 2 of the guide or here to read the final part.