Meet the sommelier Ava Mees List

New York born and Amsterdam bred, Ava Mees List goes by her middle name, pronounced 'Mase. She has worked as a sommelier at Noma in Copenhagen since 2019, becoming the restaurant's beverage director in 2022. Starting her career as a part-time bartender at an Art Deco literary café in Amsterdam after finishing her studies in cultural anthropology, she soon decided to dedicate her professional life to learning about and travelling for wine. From 2015 to 2018, Mees worked at sister restaurants Saturne and Clown Bar in Paris before moving to Copenhagen.

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My first memorable wine experience

I didn't really get into wine (or hospitality) until I was 25. Two months after I started my first job at Café Schiller in Amsterdam, my then boss Florien took me along to a pretty raucous winemakers' party at Cave St Martin in Roquebrun, Roussillon, France. The owner was a good friend of Marcel Lapierre [of Domaine Lapierre in Beaujolais] and the only drinks served were red wine, mulled red wine and coffee. We called it the Purple Teeth Festival and it made me fall in love with the natural wine community. Before that, my signature drink was a house tequila and bitter lemon highball – I never looked back.

My go-to everyday wines

Jacques Lassaigne, Les Vignes de Montgueux made by Emmanuel Lassaigne. I know it is ridiculous to name a Champagne as an everyday wine, but during my time in Paris, I learned to disassociate the region from celebratory events. I keep a bottle in the fridge at all times.

My favourite supermarket buy

I don't believe in mass-produced, cheap wine, so I definitely don't buy wine in a supermarket. If something is that cheap, somewhere in the world someone or something is paying the price. Also, support your local wine shop!

My most embarrassing moment at work

Once I told one of our guests that she looked just like this actress from one of my favourite Hollywood movies. 'Actually, that was me,' she said. Oops! I had no idea she was originally Danish. I kind of floated away from the table but we had a good laugh about it together later that evening.

Pet peeve

Some sommeliers tend to give extensive tasting notes, which I find kind of a turnoff – they can come across as imperative, and I prefer drinking with an open mind. For this reason, we do not do this at Noma.

My death row food and wine pairing

Yvon Métras Fleurie and dim sum.