Fat Duck sommelier wins top accolade

22nd May 2008, 12:42pm

Isa Bal, head sommelier at The Fat Duck in Bray, has scooped the top accolade in this year’s Best Sommelier of Europe competition.

The sommelier picked up the Best Sommelier of Europe title, meanwhile Paolo Basso of Switzerland came second, and Cyril Thevenet of Hotel du Vin group was placed third.

The finalists had to complete a series of tests including decanting red wine, serving Champagne, tasting and characterising two white and two red wines and giving food recommendations for them. They also had to suggest appropriate beverages for a menu presented by the jury.

The aim of the competition was to test the sommeliers' knowledge and skills beyond serving up wine. As well as having a complete knowledge of wine, sommeliers needed to show an innate ability to deal with customers, display an understanding of purchase and stock management, and have a good knowledge of marketing.

Sophie Roberts-Brown of the Academy of Food & Wine, commented on the winning sommeliers: "The fact we had two UK-based winners placed first and third just shows that British restaurants are now attracting and training the highest calibre of staff. The result is a great boost for the UK's hospitality sector and the art of sommellerie."

Prior to this accolade, Isa was runner-up in the Academy of Food & Wine's UK Sommelier of the Year competition in April, and Cyril won third place in the same competition.

The competition took place on 17 May and is organised by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) every two years.

This year 30 top sommeliers represented 30 European counties in the competition including Austria, Switxerland, Belgium, Italy and Norway.

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