Media Release THE BOLLINGER EXCEPTIONAL WINE SERVICE AWARD ANNOUNCES FOUR FINALISTS FOR INAUGURAL 2011 COMPETITION

Transcription

1 Media Release THE BOLLINGER EXCEPTIONAL WINE SERVICE AWARD ANNOUNCES FOUR FINALISTS FOR INAUGURAL 2011 COMPETITION Runner-up prize offered by Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, where the Finals will be judged After passing through the testing Semi-Finals, four bright young sommeliers will contest the Finals of The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award in October Josephine Gutentoft Wayve Kolevsohn Francis Krone Joakim Hansi Blackadder Sommelier at Grande Roche Hotel and Restaurant, Paarl Restaurant Manager / Sommelier at Le Quartier Francais, Franschhoek Sommelier at Saxon Boutique Hotel, Johannesburg GM / Sommelier at The Roundhouse Restaurant, Camps Bay

2 Organiser of the Award, Ginette de Fleuriot CWM, is impressed with the calibre of the finalists, Now that we are at the business end of the competition, it s gratifying to have four such outstanding finalists coming to the fore. The Final will be fiercely competitive, not least because we will have two women and two men, and two South Africans and two Swedes, fighting it out for this unique Award. Let the show begin! The final round of judging will take place on 21st October 2011 at The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, on Victoria Road beyond Camps Bay. The winner and runner-up will be announced at 19h00 on Friday, 11th November 2011, at the Swartland Revolution, at The Royal Hotel, Riebeek Kasteel. The judges are: Mia Mårtensson: (Judges Chairperson) Swedish-trained Sommelier and current Sales Manager of The Winery of Good Hope. Kent Scheermeyer: German-trained Sommelier and founder of KSconsult which services the hospitality industry in wine procurement, wine list design and training. Neil Grant: Chairman of the South African Sommelier Association (SASA) and Sommelier at Rust en Vrede Restaurant, Stellenbosch. Ginette de Fleuriot CWM: Organiser of The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award and On-Consumption Business Development Manager at Vinimark The Wine Company, co-sponsors of the Award. The winner of The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award will receive a trip to the House of Bollinger Champagne in France. The prize includes the airfare and accommodation in France. The runner-up will win two nights accommodation and sumptuous breakfast for two, at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Camps Bay. The finalists will be judged on wine and food service and will be tested on any number of the following: wine styles and terminology wine label information wine regulations regions of origin major international wine regions and their wines identifying wines in a blind tasting service techniques food and wine pairing wine storage social skills and ability to interact with the patron The recently formed South African Sommelier Association (SASA) is fully behind The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award and some of its members will be judges at

3 the competition. The association aims to provide training and mentorship to guarantee the continuous development of professional standards of wine service at the highest level. For further details, visit the official website: ENDS September 2011 See below: Collage of low resolution photographs Additional information

4 Captions 1 Joakim Hansi Blackadder 2 Wayve Kolevsohn 3 Josephine Gutentoft 4 Francis Krone Issued for The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award Award by: Posy & Jeremy Hazell PR & Wine Consultants Contact: Ginette de Fleuriot Tel Cell Tel Cell E- mail hazell@wine.co.za E- mail ginette@vinimark.co.za About The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award One of the impediments to publicising the achievements of South African wine has been the absence of a class of wine waiters able to communicate the finer points of our wines and place them in an international context. The past few years have seen important changes which have come some of the way in addressing this gap. These include the involvement of the Cape Wine Academy in creating a qualification for wine service professionals, and the investments in waiter training driven by WOSA (Wines of South Africa) under the Fundi programme ahead of the FIFA World Cup The increasing number of internationally trained sommeliers living and working in South Africa is also no doubt contributing to a raised level of awareness around issues of wine service. An annual competition aimed at encouraging those who seek to make a living from wine service is clearly part of the next stage. Sponsored by Champagne Bollinger and with infrastructural support from Riedel Glassware, The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award has been established to bring focus and recognition of achievement to the growing group of professional wine waiters in South Africa.

5 The competition is a joint initiative between Michael Fridjhon (importer of Riedel Glassware) and Vinimark The Wine Company (importer of Champagne Bollinger and South Africa s largest independent specialist wine wholesaling company). Contestants will be required to have substantial knowledge of the local wine scene and of the professional service of both food and wine. Insofar as the international wine market is concerned, contestants will be expected to have an adequate knowledge of classical appellations. More importantly, however, the contest will examine the ability of those selling wine in the on- consumption environment to relate what is produced in South Africa to the expectations of international visitors more familiar with the major wine producing regions of the world. ENDS