Nick Barb IN as LaV’s Director of Wine

Nick Barb, previously head sommelier of The Little Nell in Aspen, is now LaV’s new director of wine. His goal at the provencal-inspired restaurant is to expand the wine selection further by adding options from classical wine regions and other new winemakers. This is after the departure of Vilma Mazaite, LaV’s first wine director and partner, in October.

Under Mazaite's position, the restaurant received Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, and was included on Wine Enthusiast’s "Top 100 Wine Restaurants in the US" list. The advanced sommelier is now consulting with the restaurant instead. She is also working on an affiliated Burgundy wine and French food festival for 2017.

Last month, pastry chef and interim executive chef Janina and Sean O’Leary departed as well. The two will be working on a series of guest chef dinners for Swoop House. Original executive chef Allison Jenkins also left in June. Both Jenkins and Mazaite also worked at Little Nell, which also includes Bryce Gilmore as an alum.