Sommeliers Australia’s National Executive Committee met on Friday 3 May for a critical planning meeting, and made the difficult decision not to proceed with the Best Sommelier of Australia competition this year.
This decision was hugely influenced by Australia’s current economic crisis and the flow-on effect this is having on both the hospitality and wine industries, in combination with the limited interest we have received to date from our members to participate.
Significant time, preparation and funding is required to make the competition a success. Whilst the Education Sub-Committee and those assisting with competition planning were committed to investing the time and making preparations, as a not-for-profit association we are heavily reliant on sponsorship to support the logistics of such a major event. Unfortunately, this has not been as readily available as we had anticipated prior to launching the competition in March.
We are incredibly appreciative of the generous financial and product support we have received from Company Members, Sponsors and suppliers historically, and hope that through continued discussion and engagement with industry we can create alternate career development initiatives for our members going forward.
