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I do not call myself a Sommelier because I believe that this title only belongs to people working on the floor in restaurants. However, I really enjoyed working as a Somm back in the day and I also enjoyed competitions, so I have loosely followed the Sommelier World Championship for a while.
However, I had some discussions with people from the trade about the competition and whether it is still relevant for the industry, as many of the most well-known Somms are not necessarily well known for winning any of these competitions, and as some parts of it might appear outdated.
The Association de la Sommellerie Internationale organizes the world cup roughly every three years in another city all over the world, and the winner is a World Champion for the rest of his life.
The ASI world championship is, in my opinion, the more highly regarded event and the Final in Paris was a huge production with a crowd of 4000 people, which was broadcasted live on the web.
This must have been intimidating, to say the least: Imaging trying to pass one of the most difficult exams of your career with 4000 people looking at you.
The competitors have usually won the best sommelier award in their home country to qualify for the world championship and most of them work as Sommeliers in their home country even though that is not a prerequisite.
This competition is a huge opportunity for them as it can lead to fame and fortune in an industry that does not always provide a lot of opportunities once you have become the head somm in a restaurant.
The former Sommelier World Champions I know tend to be hard-working professionals with a passion for wine and the humbleness you get from competing against the best.
But I don’t just want to talk about the event, I want to go through it with you. So let’s start at the beginning: In the first rounds candidates are tested in blind tastings, Theorie exams, and service tasks until the best three are selected:
In the final Nina Jensen (Denmark), Raimonds Tomsons (Latvia), and Reeze Choi (China) were competing against each other for the title. Nina was the runner-up last time and Raimonds was also in third place. It was Reeze’s first time in the final and all three contestants could have become the first world champion of their country – and Nina could have been the first woman to win the title.
47 Comments
Is this the study you refer: "Chemical Senses, 2018, Vol 43, 721–726 Can the Identification of Odorants Within a Mixture Be Trained?" ?
The questions about the cocktails at the start were flat-out stupid. I understand why they did that in terms of "adding difficulty", but any actual bartender would never ask for those clarifications unless it was their first week on the job.
Honestly, that whole part of the challenge brought down my impression of how valid the overall competition actually is.
Stupid question… when they filmed this competition, what was the benefit in NOT muting out the noise of the sips, the mouth as it actively tastes, and the spitting???
I can’t listen to this… my ears are being assaulted, and I don’t think they will ever receive justice. 😡😩😱🙄🙄🙄😊
As a guest, the first candidate would freak me out – if you're acting that hasty and stressed it's a real turnoff for guests
MS ,wset … All doing same when it comes go the exams .. they want us to write down like 10000 flavours .. İt needs to change..
Love it when all these finely trained candidates are unable to identify the Petrus and instead interpret it as a St Estèphe 🙏
Valid comments, but as traditions dictate the service industry from ye olde days, it would be a radical change for the establishment. The quality test seems more relevant than identifying the vintage and producer. Love the everything except grape! 😂😂
World Championship that I have never heard about. 1) Barista 2) Sommelier
who the heck would like to be top servant of the year, is there also a price for least paid kitchen professional
This has to be the most pretentious alchoholic shit
Sommelier, telling people how a wine tastes when everyone has a different sense of taste… amazing lol, and now there are even WATER sommeliers like holy shit why
I feel like the whole competition is bunk. Like it told us nothing.
The winner looks like Patrick Bateman
I host at a reasonably high end restaurant (85 odd euro a head excl drinks) and that whole cocktail section is ridiculous. Most guests will specify if they want something specific, and if not we just use house spirits/ most common preparation. A margarita is a salted glass unless told otherwise etc. And going back to a table twice to clarify would be would suck the soul out of me. I understand in this setting they want the contestants to remember to ask these questions, but if my bartender made me go back twice instead of asking both questions at the same time there would be hell to pay.
Hello Kostantin, I’m visiting Germany for the first time in August and my boyfriend and I are driving from Italy all the way to Mainz. We’d like to also visit the Mosel region. Can you suggest some vineyards worth visiting? Thanks and cheers!
beautiful asian
Turns out she's from Kyrgyztan. hahahhaa Would be funny haha
You are so right for all of these! I wish they would focus on how we offer to guests authentic wine hospitality and not becoming heartless winepedias
Showing off our egos…
Loved your comments!
why does watching this make me so uncomfortable lol
When he started reading the aromatics I thought to myself, "this dude is really just saying whatever words come to his mind at the moment" hahaha. My man said "leather, smoke, truffle, mushroom, forest floor" hahaha. Reminds me of that Key and Peele sketch where they satirize the weird lyrics of funk songs. One of the lines they use were just random words, "ships, planets, justice, cannons, camels, and trees" hahahah
“Mushroom, leather, forest floor”- this was all made from grapes and barrels. I might be an ignoramus but it seems like they’re just making things up
i wanted to take this seriously but the individual competitions feel like some low budget game show and not like something that i would think of when someone mentions "world championship"- especially the blind tasting seemed ridiculous to me (but the picture guessing as well)
You're definitely right that this examination/competition could use some room for improvement. Focusing on a sommelier taking over for a manager or making people speedrun taste tasting despite that depriving them of a finish and palate cleanser is ridiculous. It totally takes away from the beauty and skill of the sommelier, which is a time-considered, patient, measured, and deliberate art. It seems to me to run contrary to the enjoyment of wine to rush people in this way.
They should spice these events up: Glasses need to get drink completely and no spitting out
I want to be one of the guests at the championship and say DANCE the drink over here!
Beautiful Asian 😆
This is a litle bit disgusting to watch.
Me having never even tasted wine.
Aaaa of course
The whole thing was silly from start to finish. The contest hardly seems to highlight what makes a sommelier good.
I watched live the competition…i did find the blind tasting weird and almost impossible…
the video became a lot less enjoyable after you gave away who won half way through.
Watch this Championship is like watch a circus show, if this is the final top 3 I believe there will be much more people qualified to be on that stage.
I've never heard of it, but having fun is good. o/
No amount of Valium and wine can prevent the second-hand anxiety I get from watching the first man.
Matey forgot to mention the dartboard, on fire, next to the toothpick factory, in his tasting notes…
I'm a bartender and these are standard questions I ask along with a preference in liquor. He may know his wine, but unfortunately doesn't have social background skills or industry direct experience. Likely with a huge family pressure to be perfect. I agree with the blind tasting. More time of course, would be ideal to efficiently describe each wine. I wanted the guy who jumped 2 feet in the air when his name was called to win anyways. Perfect.
I've been to a few Michelin restaurants. When interacting with the sommelier, the thing I hated the most was the sense of urgency and 'stiffness' of the conversation. I like it when the sommelier is down to earth, talks slow and makes the wine feel like a taste adventure.
Some excellently sound and logical advice, Konstantin. Thanks. Dave Kraft WSET, London.
When I go to a restaurant with a sommelier I want them to help me pick a wine that pairs well with the meal and I love hearing about the geography and the history of the vineyard. I don't care about which order at the table the wine is poured
He shouldn't ask about bourbon or rye in the old fashioned. It's rye traditionally (properly) simple as that. If you want bourbon you should specify as the customer
why they have speak english ????????????? wine is french !!!!!!!!!!
its better a game show and not a very well made competition lol. The winner just basically listed all the aroma and taste characteristics possible, doubt they'll be using super special $100k wines its not even possible for the level of complexity. Negative points for BSing 😂😂
Sounds like the exam process is awful and should be completely redone
Chinese guy is pure comedy
As a former sommelier categorically claiming , that woman testing 4 whites , no way can identify each wine to the region , grape or mixture of it , and vintage in 15ec apx each . This competition is joke .Period .
Hast du auch schon an internationalen Wettbewerben teilgenommen?
why is the video so loud
hey K just drinking 2008 grange