Mattia Cianca from Melbourne’s Attica restaurant has placed third in the 2015 International Jeunes Sommeliers Competition.
Since 2007, Les Chane des Rtisseurs, the International Association of Gastronomy, has held an annual International Jeunes (Young) Sommeliers Competition to offer sommeliers under the age of 30 an opportunity to present their skills in a highly competitive environment.
There are three levels in the Young Sommelier’s competition: a regional competition which consists of a written examination; a national final where the winners of regional competitions are invited to compete in a written theory test, a blind test and a service test; and an international final where the national winner is invited to again compete in a written theory test, a blind wine identification tests and service tests.
The competition is based on the Court of Master Sommelier procedures.
This year, guests from17 countries and across Australia headed to Adelaide’s for the Les Chane Des Rtisseurs international gastronomic roadshow, with the final of the International Jeunes Sommeliers Competition forming part of the itinerary.
The judging panel was led by Brian Julyan, chief executive of the Court of Master Sommeliers, Great Britain.
Mathias Camilleri, 27 year old Frenchman from London’s Medlar Restaurant, claimed the top spot, from an original field of 14 sommeliers from as many countries. Heidi Makinen from Restaurant C in Tampere, Finland was runner-up and Attica’s Mattia Cianca won the Bronze award.
“There’s only one competition for young sommeliers and that’s this one,” Camilleri said. “To win this is fantastic. I’ve been working with two head sommeliers since I was in England and they have both won this competition.”
Irvine Wines presented a six litre bottle of its Grand Merlot to Camilleri and three one litre bottles to Makinen and Cianca. All three received silver trays, while Camilleri also earned himself a Champagne sabrre, Le Cordon Bleu wine scholarship and a Wempe Zeitmeister stanless steel/gold wristwatch.
