Well done to Gerard Basset who has won a place to represent the UK in The World's Best Sommelier competition.
Gerard, owner of Hotel TerraVina in Hampshire, and co-founder of Hotel du Vin, will compete in the the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) World’s Best Sommelier Competition, in Chile next April.
This will be the sixth time Gerard has taken part in the prestigious competition, and, having been placed second three times is determined to win. Basset was competing for the UK qualifying place against Matthieu Longuere, head sommelier at London’s La Trompette, and Nicolas Clerc of Pont de la Tour.
The three candidates were asked to complete a tough questionnaire, a blind tasting, match two white wines with sushi, decant and serve a bottle of red wine and clear away in just eight minutes as well as an interview. The accumulation of these results put Gerard ahead, but left all three candidates with impressive results.
The World’s best Sommelier competition attracts candidates from each of the ASI’s 41 member countries. It will consist of two days of rigorous written and practical exams, including blind tastings and service role plays to test the candidates’ knowledge of wine, spirits, and other beverages, cigars, and food and wine pairing, as well as their service skills to determine the top three candidates for the final competition. The three finalists will compete in a public final round and the winner announced at a gala dinner the same evening.
Watch wine masterclasses with Gerard Basset and Geariod Devaney on Caterersearch.com here