Selecting the perfect wine
Giuseppe Vacarini gives a course in Cyprus

“Giuseppe Vacarini has selected the perfect wine to accompany each recipe…” This is how wine connoisseurs, and especially professional sommeliers, around the world perceive this man. He was trained to select the perfect wine. But this does not tell the whole story. He was the mentor of many professional sommeliers, most notably Enrico Bernardo (winner of the 11th World Sommelier Competition). An Italian, Giuseppe Vacarini was president of the International Association of Sommeliers (ASI) and Europe’s best in 1978. More recently he has been to Cyprus.

The island is not new to Giuseppe Vacarini. He has visited on three previous occasions, all linked with the National Sommelier Competition, better known as Troph?e Ruinart. Talking of sommeliers, it was pinpointed in previous articles that Cyprus is in dire need of professionally trained sommeliers. And, for this matter, there is none better to show the way than one of the leading masters of the trade.

Vacarini was born in 1952 at Miradolo Terme and studied food and wine connoisseurship, with a specialisation in wine and food advice, at the University of Lugano. He attended several courses, training and seminars on Wine Tasting, Oenology and Hotel Management, both in Italy and France. He became professional sommelier in 1972 and Michelin star restaurants cover most of his working experience, mainly in Italy. In 1978 he was a winner in the Best Sommelier competition of Estoril in Lisbon. He was declared a lecturer in 1980 and since 1981 became a member of the AIS (Italian Sommelier Association) examining board. From 1996 until 2004 he was president of the International Sommelier Association (ASI) and has been a director since then. He visited Cyprus as a president of the jury for Troph?e Ruinart, a position he has held since 1994. He is an author and a journalist too, a bio that is the envy of every professional in the industry.

Generally speaking, an upscale restaurant or hotel that prides itself on the renown of its wines will have a sommelier. In this country the first harbingers are already appearing. However, even with growing interest in fine wines our top restaurants lack experts who can master this profession.

The word sommelier come form a Provencal word (saumalier) and originally described a person in charge of teams of oxen transporting food and drink. In the 19th century, when great hotels and restaurants arose, the people seeing to the purchase and serving beverages (mainly wines) came to be referred by the term. The new profession gradually spread all over the world, and today leading hotels and restaurants have sommeliers.
Over the last two weeks at the Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol a meeting room was converted into a classroom. The lecturer was Giuseppe Vacarini himself and the students 27 ambitious professionals from hotels and restaurants. The two-week course covered the basic topics of becoming a good sommelier. It was co-hosted by Four Seasons, the Cyprus Sommelier Association and Victor Papadopoulos of La Maison du Vin. The importance of the Cyprus Sommelier Association is paramount. The mere purpose of the existence of this association is the promotion and development of the sommelier. And The Sommelier course with Giuseppe Vacarini fully served this purpose.

Wine of the Week
2002 La Chapelle D’ Ali?nor, Bordeaux Sup?rieur, France, Alcohol Volume 12.5%
The Malet Roquefort was established in Saint-Emilion in the 16th century and a passion for wine has been passed from generation to generation. In 1995, Alexandre Malet de Roquefort, already a wine grower, set up the ‘Maison Malet Roquefort’, a wine merchant house to offer premium wines and old vintages in France and abroad. The Maison also offers its own family estates wines before general release on the market. One of them is La Chapelle d’ Ali?nor, a silver medal winner in Brussels in 2003 at the Concours Mondial competition. The ch?teau is near the C?te de Castillon appellation, located on two sunny slopes with a chapel staring at them from the top of the hillside. A 100% Merlot, this dark red wine has an elegant bouquet and has notes of mulberries - cassis and raspberry. It is round on the palate, full bodied, broad and supple, weighty with good acidity and ‘trimmed’ tannins. Long finish with ageing potential until 2010. Served at 18?C with a been stew, pan-fried or grilled steaks and medium to hard cheese.