Champagne Ruinart and Sommeliers Australia are delighted to announce the 2020 Ruinart Sommelier Challenge to be held in Sydney on Monday, 30 March. Applicants will go in the running for chance to win a once in a lifetime business class trip to France for exclusive training at Maison Ruinart.

Entries are now open and applications can be made online until Sunday, 1 March. Entrants must hold a Professional Membership with Sommeliers Australia. This year, the Sommelier Challenge will select only 25 of Australia’s top sommelier talent to compete for the grand prize.

The Sommelier Challenge reflects Champagne Ruinart’s commitment to the development of the global Sommelier community, and invites talented sommeliers to test their skills with a blind tasting of four wines before enjoying a technical lecture and lunch with Ruinart Winemaker Caroline Fiot.

The judging panel will select one sommelier from the group – based upon their blind tasting responses – to be the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge 2020 winner. The winner will be announced on Monday, 30 March 2020 at the conclusion of the training day.

The winner of the Ruinart 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. The trip is an opportunity for top sommeliers from around the world to immerse themselves in the world of Champagne and enjoy rare tastings and experiences along with different producers, varieties and wines. The prize provides invaluable networking with peers from around the world and is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

The Challenge 2019 winner, Manuel Conti, says: The hospitality of the Ruinart Team/Maison is second to none, 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 last but not least spending every day with some of the best Somms from around the world is just a priceless prize and learning experience”

Caroline says of the Challenge: “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. 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”

 

CLICK HERE to apply for the 2020 Ruinart Sommelier Challenge.