SA Sommelier World Cup goes to US

Christopher Bates.

"All of the contestants, who had to be full-time employees of restaurants or hotels, were put through a series of examinations in their home countries to assess their understanding of our wine styles and what makes our offerings distinctive and unique. The national winner of each country was then flown to South Africa and spent last week visiting the Winelands, meeting winemakers and dining in some of the Cape's most exciting restaurants."

The competition culminated in a multi-part examination held at the Grande Roche in Paarl on Saturday. A sommelier is a professionally trained wine steward, specialising in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching. The first part of their competition involved a written test and was followed by a blind tasting in which participants had to accurately identify a selection of wines made locally. The top four scorers also took part in a live "restaurant" contest on stage with the judges acting as restaurant patrons. There was a large audience present of wine producers and members of the local hospitality industry.

Winners, contestants

Veronique Rivest.

The winner was Christopher Bates from the US, first runner up Stefaan Camerlinck of Belgium and second runner up Veronique Rivest of Canada. The other contestants were:

• UK Alan Holmes
  
• Holland Jurgen Luppes
  
• Germany Sebastian Wilkens
  
• Sweden Marie Dahlgren
  
• Denmark Asbjørn May
  
• Norway Francesco Azzarone (final round finalist)
  
• Finland Caroline Gullström
  
• Russia Leonid Sternik
  
• Korea Seung-Hoon Lee

Judging panel

• Miguel Chan, Mauritius-born and certified by internationally recognised industry body, the Court of Master Sommeliers, he is the group sommelier of Southern Suns Hotels
  
• Marilyn Cooper, MD of the Cape Wine Academy and Cape Master of Wine (CWM)
  
• Neil Grant, also certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers, worked in the hospitality industry in the US for seven years and is now the sommelier at Rust en Vrede Restaurant
  
• Åsa W Karlsson, one of Sweden's best- known wine personalities with over 14 years of experience. In 2002 she won Sweden's Female Sommelier of the Year title. She served on the panels of the World Championship for Sommeliers in 2004 and the European Championship in 2003.
  
• Mia Mårtensson, born in Sweden but living in South Africa, is a graduate of the Restaurant Academy in Stockholm and holds a sommelier certificate from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She has worked in a two-star Michelin restaurant in Stockholm.
  
• Hans-Jürgen Podzun, CEO of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Koblenz (IHK), president of the German Wine School and a contributor to Germany's GaultMillau wine guide since 2001, is a member of numerous national and international juries.
  
• Jörg Pfützner, who worked as a sommelier in his native Germany before coming to South Africa, is the sommelier of the Aubergine Restaurant, consistently awarded by Diners Club for the excellence of its wine lists. He is consulting wine editor to G&W magazine (formerly Golf und Wein) and is a taster for the Platter South African Wine Guide.

Inspiring South Africans, more internationals

Stefaan Camerlinck.

Birch added that the opportunity for local wine service staff to meet some of the world's best sommeliers was an important source of motivation for aspirant sommeliers. "South Africa has a few internationally trained sommeliers and there is expanding interest in the profession as a dynamic career with huge scope for personal growth. However, it is still an untapped area with enormous potential, particularly as our wine tourism industry continues to grow. When local people in the wine service industry meet trained sommeliers they get a glimpse of what they can achieve one day.

Francesco Azzarone.

"The week-long visit, culminating in Saturday's contest, created a great opportunity to expose an important group of opinion leaders to the diversity and excellence of South African wines. Many sommeliers play a key role in compiling wine lists for restaurants and hotels and are ideal ambassadors for us.

"There has been huge interest from the international wine fraternity and judging by the level and extent of support, there is definitely the appetite to continue the competition. We hope to involve a broader spectrum of countries in future, particularly from Africa, where the profession is still in its infancy," she concludes.