The Rhyme and reason of jazz and wine pairings with Wanda Mann

by DION Staff Reports

For Wanda Mann, jazz doesn’t simply play in the background — it moves, improvises, and lingers, much like a great glass of wine. The celebrated wine writer and editor, whose byline has graced Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, The SOMM Journal and countless others, traces her love of jazz back to childhood, when music was as essential in her home as conversation.

Raised in a household where gospel, funk, folk, disco, and classical music flowed freely, Wanda’s earliest memories of jazz are inseparable from family. Her father, an avid audiophile with an enviable vinyl collection, and her grandmother, a professional singer, set the tone. But it was riding in her grandfather’s black Lincoln Continental—jazz humming through the speakers—that planted the seed. At eight years old, she dismissed it as “old people’s music,” until one day Billie Holiday’s voice stopped her cold. “That was it,” she recalls. Jazz had entered her bloodstream.

What captured her imagination was jazz’s refusal to be predictable. Its rhythms bend, phrases surprise, and melodies wander off-script. “You never know what’s around the corner,” Wanda says. “It sounds like life.” That sense of improvisation mirrors what she loves about wine—how a vintage evolves, how terroir speaks differently each year, how a bottle can surprise even the most seasoned palate.

Though life has pulled her away from late nights in New York City jazz clubs—something she dearly misses—jazz still soundtracks her days at home and on the road. And when it comes to pairing jazz with wine, Wanda approaches it intuitively, emotionally, and with style.

Billie Holiday, for instance, calls for a wine with soul and softness. Wanda loves pairing Lady Day with a cru Beaujolais—silky, expressive, and quietly profound. The wine’s red fruit and gentle structure echo Holiday’s vulnerability and depth. For the bright energy of bebop—think Charlie Parker or Dizzy Gillespie—she reaches for Champagne or a vibrant grower sparkling wine, something with lift, tension, and a little edge. Latin jazz, rich with rhythm and warmth, pairs beautifully with a textured Albariño or a saline-driven Vermentino, wines that dance across the palate.

Jazz, Wanda believes, belongs to everyone—even those who claim they “don’t get it.” Her advice? Listen closely. Jazz riffs are everywhere, sampled into pop and hip-hop, woven invisibly into modern music. “Jazz is like a secret seasoning,” she says. “It adds complexity and finesse.”

Born in America by the descendants of enslaved Africans, jazz is both history and living art—much like wine itself. And in Wanda Mann’s world, the two will always find harmony, one note, one sip at a time. 

“Them There Eyes,” Billie Holiday
Them There Eyes is one of the songs I listened to with my grandfather. It’s so upbeat and joyful, and I love the raspy texture of Billie’s voice. The lyrics say, “They sparkle, they bubble, they’re gonna get you, In a whole lot of trouble, oh baby, them there eyes.” Sparkle, bubble – clearly, this song is a perfect match with Champagne. It’s romantic and frisky, just like a beautiful bubbly. 

Wine: Champagne Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle is an assemblage of three different vintage years with the goal of creating a perfect year—a great match with this perfect little love song. 

“Cry Me a River,” Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald’s soaring and silky voice is an exceptional instrument that expresses the full spectrum of human emotions. Many have recorded Cry Me a River, but Ella’s version is my favorite. It is an elegant dismissal of an untrustworthy former lover with the audacity to beg for a second chance. Pinot Noir is known as the heartbreak grape because it is persnickety and challenging to cultivate. Pinot Noir has humbled many winemakers. But like Ella’s voice, Pinot Noir tells a story, and when produced with integrity, it is a pristine expression of terroir. 

Wine: Clos du Cellier aux Moines, Givry Premier Cru is a captivating Pinot Noir that hits all the right notes. Hailing from the southern part of Burgundy, it has an authentic sense of place and beautiful balance and vitality in the glass.

“Solea,” Miles Davis

Iconic trumpeter and composer Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain album is an enduring masterpiece. With its compelling Flamenco influences, Solea is my favorite track on the album. It has a cinematic feel; if you close your eyes while listening, it transports you to a sultry day in southern Spain. 

Wine: Tio Pepe en Rama is no ordinary Sherry. Hailing from Jerez in southern Spain’s Andalucia, it perfectly matches the complex Solea; both are meant to be savored. Produced with no filtering or clarification, Tio Pepe En Rama is made in limited quantities and showcases the influence of the flor (yeast) that covers the wine as it ages. And, coincidentally, Solea makes me think of solera, the intricate Sherry barrel aging system. 

 

The Soul of a People: Jazz and the Black Community

Jazz was born from the heartbeat of a people, rising out of the struggles and resilience of African Americans in the early 20th century. Created in the melting pot of New Orleans, jazz blended African rhythms, blues, gospel, and ragtime with European harmonic structures. The result was a genre that defied convention—improvisational, emotional, and deeply human.

Its roots stretch back to the spirituals sung by enslaved Africans, the call-and-response of work songs, and the expressive sorrow of the blues. As Black communities migrated north during the Great Migration, jazz spread to cities like Chicago, New York, and Kansas City, each adding its own flavor. By the 1920s, the “Jazz Age” had arrived, with artists like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Bessie Smith pushing the music into the mainstream.

But jazz was never just music. For the Black community, it was a form of liberation—an artistic rebellion against the societal restrictions placed on them. Through improvisation, musicians claimed their freedom, crafting solos that spoke of joy, pain, pride, and possibility. Jazz clubs became safe spaces for expression and cultural affirmation, even when segregation and racism loomed outside their doors.

Globally, jazz became America’s most influential cultural export, resonating with marginalized communities everywhere. From Paris to Tokyo to Cape Town, jazz spoke to struggles for freedom and identity. Its improvisational nature gave voice to those who had been silenced and offered a shared language of resistance and celebration.

Throughout its evolution—from bebop and swing to fusion and contemporary jazz—Black artists have remained at the forefront, using the genre to address civil rights, heritage, and innovation. Legends like John Coltrane, Nina Simone, and Miles Davis turned jazz into protest and poetry. Today, musicians like Kamasi Washington and Esperanza Spalding continue that tradition, blending old sounds with new messages.

Jazz is more than a genre; it’s a cultural legacy and a mirror to the Black experience in America. It tells stories no textbook could hold and emotions no speech could capture. For over a century, jazz has been the soundtrack of resilience, a celebration of Black brilliance, and a timeless reminder that beauty often emerges from struggle.