Sommeliers win against bartenders at Imbibe Live
Five sommeliers - Dawn Davies of Selfridges, Jake Crimmin of Gaucho Grill, Paul Green of Barbecoa, Kelvin McCabe of Zuma and David Vareille of Bar Boulud - took on five bartenders at the competition's final at Imbibe Live on 5 July and won for the first time in three years.
Based on a job-swap, the final rounds saw each team captain pouring Champagne magnums and a ‘home and away’ quiz round before the final where one of the sommeliers made a Brandy Blazer while a bartender performed a Champagne cascade.
The sommeliers beat the bartenders for the first time in the competition's history with a winning score of nine, versus the bartenders' eight.
Bartenders taking part in the competition were Sean Ware of Callooh Callay, Ryan Chetiyawardana of Fluid Movement, Marcis Dzelzainis of 69 Colebrook Row, Michael Nicolian of Alice House and Jeff Stuit of Bacchus.
A record 7,124 visitors made it along to Earl's Court 2 for the two-day event this year to watch the competition, meet drinks producers and attend drinks masterclasses and seminars.
