AFW extends deadline to enter Sommelier of the Year

The Academy of Food & Wine (AFW) has extended the deadline for the 2010 UK Sommelier of the Year competition to 31 December.

The organisation has extended the deadline by two weeks and is inviting hospitality employers to nominate members of staff to the competition, which rewards sommeliers’ knowledge of wine, understanding of the restaurant business and ability to cope under pressure.

Sponsored by Champagne Piper-Heidsieck, the UK Sommelier of the Year competition consists of four rounds including a paper judging followed by five regional finals.

Fifteen of the top placed regional finalists will qualify for the semi-finals, which will take place in London next April. The three top sommeliers will then compete in the final held at the Washington Mayfair, the new banqueting facilities at the Westbury Mayfair hotel, London.

"We are delighted to be using this fabulous facility for the final of UK Sommelier of the Year 2010," said AFW executive director Sophie Roberts-Brown.

"We've already received a lot of entries to the competition from a good mix of establishments, so it's likely to be another closely-fought final."

The competition’s panel of judges will be headed by the Academy’s technical director Gerard Basset, proprietor of Hotel TerraVina in Hampshire.

Employers can nominate a member of their team by downloading an entry form from the AFW or by calling the Academy on 020 8661 4646.

Laura Rhys from Hotel TerraVina wins Sommelier of the Year 2009 >>

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By Kerstin Kühn

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