Test of Knowledge: Sommelier Competition Finals

The Sommelier Competition finals took place this Thursday at Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse.  The competition was hosted by Sommelier Gil Kulers, Director of Education of the Taste of Atlanta, and Michael McNeil, the only Master Sommelier in Georgia. The four finalists were Jacob Gragg of Aria, Joone Lim of Kevin Rathbun Steakhouse, Matt Bradford of Canoe, and  Davio's own, Robert Evans.  The level of pressure in the room was high, as the contestants were held to extremely high standards and expected to display the utmost degree of professionalism.

Contestants had to compete in four different areas: Decanting of wine, stating the proper storage temperature, age, cellar, and separate the wine from sediment; Food and Wine pairings, giving very specific tastes, flavors, and sauce pairings which would bring out specific elements of the food and wine taste.  Next, the experts had the opportunity to display their knowledge of regions, production, and origins of specific wines  Finally, the Sommeliers had 2 minutes to complete a Wine ID test.  They had to do a blind tasting, identify grapes, region, Appalachian, etc., based on taste, smell, and appearance.  Levels of extract, color, and flavor profiles were given in this impressive display of wine knowledge. Here are some of the far out questions asked of the Sommeliers:

• What is the most planted white grape in Argentina?
• When was the Chilean wine law established?
• What is the most planted grape in the Champagne region?
• What style of wine is made in the foothills of Greece?
• What are the parent grapes of Pinot tage?

Do you know any of these answers!??

Highlights of the competition included the very impressive food and wine pairings, where contestants effortlessly rattled off pairs such as: foie gras with infused cookie crumble, accompanied by stone fruit apricot maple syrup and a fine wine from Finland.  Another great pairing included paco crusted cod with seasonal veggies, and a harmony of earth tones to blend with an Austrian wine.  There were too many favorable combinations to count! Another exciting portion of the event was hearing the contestants' favorite wine descriptors, which included: Luck Charm rouge and tancic and black currant.  Such intense descriptions should entice any drinker!  After much scrutiny, Matt Bradford of Canoe was named runner-up, and Joone Lim of Kevin Rathbun Steakhouse emerged victorious as Best Sommelier!