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Jo Wessels, Commis Sommelier of the Ente Restaurant in Wiesbaden, has been awarded the title of best German Sommelier at the "Sommelier Cup 2018" of the German Wine Institute (DWI). Kevin Kleu from Cologne came second, followed by Sebastian Schütz from Würzburg in third place. The competition was held on 28 and 29 January at the Atrium Hotel in Mainz.
The more than 30 participants from gastronomy and trade first had to demonstrate intensive knowledge of the typical grape variety characteristics of local wines, had to have structural data on viticulture and the wine market at hand and prove their knowledge of winemaking and wine law. Further focal points were tasks concerning wine and food as well as the characterisation of renowned German wine locations. During the tastings, wines from all German wine-growing regions had to be classified according to origin, vintage and grape variety. This also included a rarity tasting of white wines, some of which had been matured for over 30 years.
In the final round, the three finalists tasted and described two hidden wines, gave food recommendations for three given wines and answered technical questions within 90 seconds. A renowned jury of experts, consisting of representatives from Sommelier-Union Deutschland, the German Wine and Sommelier School, the Heidelberg Hotel Management School, the Munich Chamber of Commerce and Industry Academy, restaurateurs and trade journalists evaluated the tasks and chose the winner.
The winners received cash prizes worth a total of 3,250 euros. As the winner of the competition, Jo Wessels was also allowed to participate in the "Sommelier Summer Class 2018", the annual meeting of international sommeliers in Geisenheim.
(uka / Photo: German Wine Institute)