Contest Strasbourg
Contest of the Best Sommelier of Europe
Paolo Basso
crowned in Strasbourg
Seven months after the world competition won by the British
Gérard Basset, it is another 'regular' of the big international meetings who took the European title. On Monday, November 22nd, at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg, it is indeed the Swiss candidate
Paolo Basso who transformed his fourth participation in the continental competition into success.
But before playing the leading role in the final, this 44-year-old sommelier who created his own consulting firm in Lugano, had, as 33 other candidates, to comply with the requirements of a first series of tests. Eight semifinalists came up: the future winner but also
David Biraud (France),
Merete Bo ( Norway),
Matteo Ghiringhelli (Italy),
Julia Gosea (Romania),
Andreas Jeschmayr (Austria),
Matthieu Longuere (United Kingdom) and
Arvid Rosengren (Sweden).
Confronted with a new practical exercise, the professionals had to wait more than 24 hours to know those of them who were going to contend for the title during the open-to-the-public final. Service, food and wine matches, blind tasting and correction of an erroneous wine list constituted the high points of this event.
The Helvetian candidate's experience was going to turn out determining. He went every time to the heart of the matter and made profit of his participations to the various competitions which marked out his professional life since nearly twenty years. At the time of the results,
Paolo Basso came before
David Biraud, the chef Sommelier of the Crillon, in Paris, who so gets closer to Grail, and
Matteo Ghiringhelli (In Vino, in Paris)
A few hours later, Shinya Tasaki, Best Sommelier of the World in 1995, became the new President of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale.
Jean Bernard
Le podium final : Matteo Ghiringhelli (3e) Paolo Basso (1er) et David Biraud (2e).
Photo : Jean Bernard, DNA
