Held on 17 July at Four Seasons Hotel in Shanghai, the competition was organised by French Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifood and Forestry and Sopexa China, to develop public recognition towards sommelier and French wine, and to disseminate French wine culture and presenting its charm, according to the organisers.

The six finalists from across China battled it out in the finale after going through six rounds, testing their serving skills and professional knowledge on Aperitif, Champagne, cheese, red wine, blind tasting in addition to a final Q&A section.

The first runner-up was Sun Xin from Shanghai Jing An Shangri-la Hotel, while the second runner-up was Wu Xiaobin from L’Atelier de Robuchon in Shanghai.

Judges included Jean Pascal Paubert, honorary president of l’Union de la Sommellierie Francaise; Nelson Chow, International Sommelier Association, president of Hongkong District; Li Demei, Oenologist and professor of Beijing Agriculture University; Wataru Iwata, champion of 2017 Japan’s Best Sommelier Competition; LV Yang, global wine director of Shangri-la Hotels and Resorts and Augustin Missoffe, Sopexa China/Hongkong director.

Prix Cognac Concours Sommelier 2017, the additional prize established by BINIC in this competition, was won by Liu Feifei from The Temple House, a Swire Group hotel in southwestern Chengdu. Liu was the only female contestant in the competition and was praised for her excellent performance during the blind tasting section, where three out of the total four wines were Cognac.

The winner Wang Fengyuan will be awarded a one-week wine voyage-training in Bordeaux in early 2018, and the first and second runner-ups can participate in Asia’s Best French wine Sommelier competition in Taiwan in December this year.

All the three winners will have the opportunity to participate in the International Sommelier Competition (Greater China region), hold by ASI this year in September.

Read more at source: The Drinks Business