Champagne Ruinart unveils 2016 sommelier Challenge

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 17 March, 2016

Champagne Ruinart has announced the details of its Ruinart Challenge 2016, aimed at identifying the most talented young sommeliers from around the world.

The Challenge is an an international training and mentoring programme run in partnership with he Court of Master Sommeliers.

UK sommeliers are first invited to participate in a training day hosted by Ruinart cellar master Frédéric Panaïotis.

Panaïotis will be joined at the workshop by Gerard Basset OBE MS MW MBA and Ronan Sayburn MS, who together will comprise the Ruinart Challenge Day Jury.

There are only 20 places available for both Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced and Diploma students and other young sommeliers.

The workshop will take place at Moët Hennessy UK, 18 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0DH on Tuesday April 5, 2016.

20 places are available on this workshop to, along with other young sommeliers.

The jury will identify the most talented student sommelier, who will then join a four-day educational trip to Champagne with Frédéric Panaïotis, from July 5 to 8, 2016.

The trip is a unique opportunity for a young sommelier to experience rare tastings and be introduced to different producers, varieties and wines, while also taking advantage of invaluable networking opportunities with their peers from around the world.

Entries for the one-day workshop are now invited.

For further details on how to enter please follow the link here or email here.

The deadline for entry is Tuesday, March 29.

Panaïotis said: "Ruinart is committed to supporting the global sommelier community through career development and further education. We're delighted to be working with the Court of Master Sommeliers to bring The Ruinart Challenge to the UK and I'm looking forward to seeing the high level of competition in London."

Basset added: "Training within the industry is vital and The Ruinart Challange stands out from other initiatives due to its networking opportunities and access to the well-known faces in the sommelier world - the benefits of this program are invaluable."

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