The 2020 Ruinart Sommelier Challenge will be held in Sydney on Monday 30 March.
The collaboration between Champagne Ruinart and Sommeliers Australia gives applicants a chance to receive exclusive training at Maison Ruinart in France, with return business class flights.
Entries can be made online until Sunday 1 March and applicants must hold a Professional Membership with Sommeliers Australia, with just 25 sommeliers selected to compete.
Competitors will have their skills tested in a blind tasting of four wines. From their responses, the judging panel will select one sommelier. The winner will then be announced at the conclusion of the training day.
After the blind tasting, competitors will attend a technical lecture and lunch with Ruinart Winemaker Caroline Fiot.
“We continue to be very impressed with the calibre of sommeliers in Australia, and I am excited to see what the 2020 Ruinart Sommelier Challenge holds,” says Fiot. “Ruinart continues its commitment to support the global sommelier community, and we are pleased to continue our relationship with Sommeliers Australia and the local sommelier community.”
The winner of the Sommelier Challenge will receive a return business class trip to France to attend a four-day educational trip to Reims, hosted by Ruinart Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaïotis, in July 2020. Alongside enjoy rare tastings and introductions to different producers, varieties and wines, the prize provides an opportunity to network with the global wine community.
“The hospitality of the Ruinart Team/Maison is second to none,” says 2019 winner Manuel Conti. “They were great from day one to the last one (when we were sharing a bottle of Champagne on the train back to Paris!). Tasting wines daily with Frederic and Caroline was so great and enlightening and…spending every day with some of the best somms from around the world is just a priceless prize and learning experience.”
Applications for the 2020 Ruinart Sommelier Challenge are now open.
Image: Caroline Fiot