Selection for ‘Europe’s Best Sommelier’ Competition Paris
The same setting, in the reception rooms of the Sofitel Baltimore Hotel in Paris and the same candidates: David Biraud (from ‘Les Ambassadeurs’ restaurant at the Crillon Hotel in Paris), Dominique Laporte (from the ‘Auguste’ restaurant in Paris) and Eric Zwiebel (from the ‘Summer Lodge’ restaurant in Evershot, Great Britain). In autumn 2006, these three sommeliers competed for a place in the World competition held in Rhodes. They met again this year, on 17th March, to attempt to qualify as the French candidate for the competition, ‘Europe’s Best Sommelier’. Some of the most highly skilled professionals in Europe will take part in this contest to be held from 17th to 19th May 2008, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
France has been vying for such a title since 2002 and seeking success equal to that achieved by Franck Thomas, so the selection tests were highly specialised. “Our approach is intentional, because all over Europe the candidates selected will present skills of a very high standard. We must therefore raise the criteria of our selection and also take into account that French sommeliers are often disadvantaged by their limited access to foreign wines” pointed out Serge Dubs, President of the Union of the French Sommelier Profession (UDSF) and also winner of the European competition in 1988, so he is an expert in this field.