TerraVina’s Laura Rhys named Sommelier of the Year
Laura Rhys from Hotel TerraVina in Southampton has been declared the 2009 UK Sommelier of the Year by the Academy of Food and Wine following a competitive and ‘tense’ final.
The 27 year-old beat off tough competition from 14 semi-finalists in the morning, before defeating fellow finalists Yohann Jousselin from Hotel du Vin & Bistro in Winchester, and Christopher Delalonde from The Square in London to secure the title.
Judged by master sommelier Matt Wilkin, last year’s winner Gearoid Devaney and food and drink writer Tom Parker-Bowles, the final stage of the competition saw the three finalists battle through a series of demanding technical tasks to test their knowledge, skill and expertise.
Chief judge Wilkin said the competition this year proved an incredibly difficult one to judge. “All are professionals at the top of their game and who have a passion for the subject,” he said. “They all handled the pressure of the competition admirably - the industry should be proud of this level of achievement.”
The finalists were asked to forego a realistic role-play restaurant scenario testing their management skills, ability to deal with customers and ability to cope under pressure; a blind tasting; a food and wine matching exercise; a timed wine list error-spotting exercise, and the grand finale that saw the three sommeliers having to fill 16 Champagne glasses equally with a single magnum of Champagne Piper Heidsieck Cuv?e Brut without returning to any of them.
Christian Holthausen, international house communications director for Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck who sponsored the competition, said: “The current economic climate has prompted an interesting set of new challenges for the sommelier with an added emphasis on the ability to direct customers to interesting fine wines that suit every budget. Today’s exhilarating competition has been a true test of these talents and highlights the complex skill set a sommelier has to master, combining the art of showman, authority and businessman.”
Rhys wins an educational trip to Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck in France to meet Chef de Caves Regis Camus for a tasting session and private guided tour.
