The competition will be held over one day, with a semifinal round in the morning, and the final of the best candidates in the afternoon of Monday 11th Jan 2016.
The candidates will be grilled by a panel of international judges and sommeliers.
Michele Chantome, Deputy General Secretary of the ASI (Association de la Sommellerie Internationale) and president of the Sommeliers of Morocco will head the jury, with the help of Neil Grant, president of SASA, Hans Astrom (Best Sommelier of Sweden), and other internationally qualified judges.
Some of the questions will be prepared by Gerard Basset, MW, Best Sommelier of the World 2010, to give the competition a real international flair, so the local candidates must be ready for everything.
The full art of sommelier will be tested, not just their wine knowledge, or the blind tasting capacity, but also the ability to engage the client, the technicality of the service, the knowledge of all beverages and the food and wine pairing.
The Best Sommelier of South Africa 2016 title will reward the best professional of the industry, and the winner will not be able to compete again for the national title, as it is a once-only title. However the Best Sommelier 2016 is expected to participate in the organisation of the next competition - the Best Sommelier of SA 2018.
Out of the finalists, SASA will decide the candidate who will go to the Best Sommelier of the World taking place in Mendoza in April 2016 based on the results and the candidate’s eligibility. The Sommelier representing South Africa must be a South African citizen or working in South Africa for at least 3 years, be bilingual and able to conduct the competition in an ASI language that is not her/his mother tongue.
The selected candidate will face more than 55 other candidates to win the ultimate title currently held by Paolo Basso from Switzerland. Please note that Paolo Basso is honorary member of SASA already. The Best Sommelier of the World title is only awarded every three years.
The Best Sommelier of South Africa 2016 is supported by SASA members, but as well Veuve Clicquot, Nederburg, Reciprocal Trading, Riedel Glassware, Taj Cape Town.
We are encouraging all interested sommeliers to register before end of December 2015.
For more info please contact us on info@sommeliers.org.za.
The Best Sommelier of South Africa 2016 is proud to have wine.co.za at their media partner.