Grisanti — a Sommelier with an extensive list of prior certifications — now adds a deep understanding of Champagne production, history, terroir, tasting techniques, and service to his resume.
This allows him to share his love for Champagne with the Louisville community in a variety of exciting ways from Nouvelle's "Completely Irresponsible Champagne List" to their new Champaniacs Wine Club, and Grisanti's consistently sold out Wine Education classes.
"There's something really romantic about champagne," Grisanti says. "You celebrate with it, you mourn with it, it's perfect with food. And once you open a bottle of champagne, you've got to share it."
Anyone who's taken one of Grisanti's expertly-led classes can tell you that his knowledge of food pairings and flavor profiles is vast. Events like Nouvelle's annual Bacchanal patio party on April 14th and April 29th's Sparkling Wine Education class showcase the Nulu wine bar's commitment to community.
LEO sat down with Grisanti to talk all things champagne, his new certification, and what it means for the Nouvelle.
Tyler Lizenby
Nouvelle's exceptional patio is home to a number of events, including the annual Bacchanal party on April 14 with food served by Noam Bilitzer of Meesh Meesh.
LEO: Tell us a little about your background and how you got started in the wine industry?
Grisanti: So, I lived in Denver, Colorado for a few years for undergrad, and was working for the Qdoba Mexican Grill Corporation out there and started really getting into food. My family is a restaurant family here in town. I've always been around food, but I started really getting into it then.
After that, I moved to Napa, California to attend the Culinary Institute of America and then ended up taking a job at the Michelin-starred Breslin in New York City. Then came back and was really into beer. So I got what's called the Cicerone certification for beer experts. But I've always been into food, and I started to realize over the years that beer culture didn't emphasize food culture in the same way that wine culture did.
When I moved back to Kentucky, a couple of years in, there was a job offering for a new wine bar that was opening, which was, of course, Nouvelle. The previous owners moved to Florida during COVID times so I purchased it from them in 2021.
LEO: What is that specifically draws you to Champagne?
Grisanti: I love champagne, I think, as you've seen, it's a beverage like no other because it's probably one of the only beverages in the world that's process driven but also terroir driven. And if you've taken the Champagne Master Class that I do, you'll know that it's very unique in that way because it is so specifically a method but it also is so specifically a place of origin.
Sparkling wine from the Champagne, France area does seem to really shine as a wine product first, and then the production is just incredible. And there's something really romantic about champagne. You celebrate with it, you mourn with it, it's perfect with food in most ways. So. And once you open a bottle of champagne, you've got to share it.
LEO: Tell us about getting your Master of Champagne certification. What was that process like?
Grisanti: So yeah, we're champagne junkies here. It's probably my favorite beverage. The French Wine Scholar Guild is a pretty large organization with a European kind of focus more than in the States. They offer different master programs that are specific to regions so I decided to jump in and go right to the Master of Champagne.
I studied for the last year and kind of deep dived. It's a pretty difficult exam, just from a conceptual basis, there's no tasting and there's no service portion, but there is a big map identification. So you have to identify some of the villages, Grand Crus, the rivers, different regions, geography. Then there's a big multiple choice section, fill in the blank, and four or five essay questions.
LEO: Nouvelle focuses a lot on Grower Champagne. Can you explain what that is?
Grisanti: I'm not against big producers, but I'm just really fascinated with the grower community and the grower movement around Champagne. And what that is, is basically smaller producers that are regionally specific, within each of the different villages and areas of Champagne. And it's just boomed over the last couple of years as generationally, they're passing down those farms in those vineyards to their children and grandchildren. As opposed to selling their grapes and products to the big houses. they're starting to produce their own wines on it. And I just think there's a incredible depth and array of styles and great, great production to explore.
LEO: So did you do any traveling to prepare for the test?
Grisanti: Travel is extremely important to not only my ability to know what's happening, but for me to bring back to Louisville things that I think are important. So I do emphasize travel. I think if you're going to be in the wine industry or in the food industry, you've got to be kind of obsessed with it. And I'm obsessed with both food and wine.
My wife, and I try to travel as much as possible to areas that emphasize food and beverage. It's not fun traveling with me. It's just a lot. Hitting multiple restaurants in a day, which sounds fun until you're, you know, you're kind of fatigued from it.
Follow @nouvellewine on Instagram to keep up with the latest events.
Nouvelle Wine Bar
214 S Clay St.
Upcoming Events:
Bacchanal Patio Party
Sunday, April 14
Sparkling Wine Education
Monday, April 29
