Sud de France announces Sommelier of the Year finalists

, just weeks ahead of the national final to be held at London’s Maison de la Region Languedoc-Roussillon.

Running for the first time in the UK, the competition aims to find the British sommelier with the most knowledge of the Southern France region and its wines.

Since completing a paper judging round regarding the characteristics of the Languedoc-Roussillon wines, the 11 finalists will now go forward to participate in a live event on September 7 where their practical skills and knowledge will be further scrutinized.

Anthony Moss of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, La Trouvaille owner Guillaume Siard and Stefen Gorda, head sommelier at Hotel du Vin in Bristol will be amongst the judges determining the top three finalists, who will then be tested on service skills, recommending wines for a specific audience, and correcting wine list errors.

The competition winner will receive a three-day luxury educational trip for two to Languedoc-Roussillon, plus a gourmet dinner at Hibiscus with specially-selected wines.

The semi-finalists of the first Sud de France Sommelier of the Year are:​

Romain Henry, Gordon Ramsay Maze Grill 
Rebecca Skinner, Green and Blue Wines 
Philippe Moranges, Hakkasan 
Roman Bouget, Hotel du Vin, Winchester 
Ucar Ahmet, Hotel du Vin, Winchester 
Stefan Neumann, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons 
Marc-Andrea Levy, Murano 
Jacques Savary de Beauregard, The Cinnamon Club 
Sarah Guignard, The French Table 
Sylvain Lastenat, Yauatcha