Service tests, tastings... Welcome to the competition for the best sommelier in the world

Caroline Baudry, edited by Romain Rouillard 9:02 p.m., February 12, 2023

They were 4,000 this Sunday to attend the competition for the best sommelier in the world, won by the Latvian Raimonds Tomsons, at La Défense Arena near Paris.

The prestigious competition brought together 68 participants from 65 countries and the three finalists had to decide between particularly demanding tests which aimed to assess their expertise in the art of serving and drinking wine. 

In a chic restaurant room reconstituted on stage, actors play the role of fake customers.

Among them, former world sommelier champions who observe the candidates performing the exercises.

And in particular this scenario: "Tonight, the manager of your restaurant had to leave in a hurry, so you must first take care of this table. You have three minutes".

One of the participants tries to describe in detail the wine he serves.

"It's a Bordeaux wine. We use this magnificent decanter to give oxygen which releases the complexity of this wine". 

Questions of rare complexity

After the timed service trials, it's time for the tasting: four glasses of white wine, a spittoon and two pieces of rock to pair with the drink.

"Number 4 is a Chardonnay from Burgundy in France. Slate for wine number 2 and granite for wine number 3", recognizes a candidate. 

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The best sommelier must also perfectly match food and wine in public or even estimate the price of any bottle in the world.

The three finalists had distinguished themselves this week by responding in writing to very specific questions: "On which plant is the biodynamic infusion 507 based?"

or "What is the sensory threshold of acetic acid in wine?".