The secrets of the Argentinian sommelier who has established herself in the international top ten

The competition Best sommelier in the world of the International Association of Sommeliers was defined this Sunday, February 12, in Paris La Defense Arena of the French capital, in front of a crowd of 4,000 professionals and wine lovers and the Argentinian representative Valeria Gamper got sixth place.

Between the 67 sommeliers out of 65 countries, there were two Argentinians; André Donadio (Best Sommelier Argentina 2022) and Gamper (Best Sommelier of the Americas 2022 and Best Sommelier Argentina 2019). And after a lively quarter-final round, the latter was among the 17 semi-finalists competition.

Finally, yesterday Sunday, the most important event of the world sommellerie culminated in front of the public who remained silent while waiting for the revelation of the three finalists. First the 65 participants took the stage, then only the 17 semi-finalists remained and were the protagonists of the final count, since they were named according to the position obtained in the competition.

One by one, the final rankings of the semi-finalists were announced. As their names were heard, the contestants realized that they would not make the final three and thus their long road to becoming the World’s Best Sommelier (which for most includes winning the contest of the Meilleur Sommelier (sommelier of his country) was one step away from completion. strain grew up and he silence it gripped the audience as the number of semi-finalists edged closer to the top three.

More than 5,000 people followed the final proceedings to Youtube, and among them many Argentines who were pushing for Valeria. The names passed and she remained on stage. Until there are only three female and three male sommeliers left and the name of Argentina is announced.

“Sincerely I didn’t expect to go this faryou can feel that they have grown a lot and done a lot, that’s why I’m very happy with sixth place, it’s a luxury”, said Valeria Gamper in dialogue with GlobeLiveMedia. The sommelier brought up and trained in Buenos Aireswho currently resides at Pamplonaay works in the famous restaurant The Urdaniz mill, A lot has been prepared to get to this stage and has invested a lot of resources. “I have already lost count of master classes, private lessons in coffee preparation, training in cheeses and other gourmet products, there are many hours invested in this, but in competitions there are other variables that influence a lot like fatigue and pressure since everyone is watching you all the time and you have microphones everywhere,” says Gamper.

For its part, Donadio, the other Argentinian sommelier who took part in the competition, underlined the level and the requirement of the theoretical exam, which included a hundred very complex questions. For her, one of the keys was to devote many hours to a rigorous training program, to know which day she could study and, if not, to continue with the next subject “because if it’s not the case, it will snowball”. Donadio assured that it was very difficult because beyond his profession, he has a family and a job that demands his time.

“You try to be true but day after day you take, I knew what I had to do, Qatar, study, doing service, going to a restaurant for a snack, etc., but you always have things aside, you have to do the best you can,” she says proud of her new achievement. Undoubtedly, a complete preparation is necessary, investing many resources beyond time to be able to get to the contest at best.

Probably the most difficult is manage the nervesas he competed alongside the other 67 best sommeliers in the world, including 5 other continental winners and several finalists from other World’s Best Sommelier competitions.

“The local sommelier trade is very good, the schools are very good and they train much better than in other countries. Besides, the SAA (Argentine Association of Sommeliers) is very well formed and is an institution very serious who greatly supports the participants in the preparation so that the path is easier, providing resources for the preparation of the Competition of the Americas, where I was able to win, and also for this competition it was the key to reaching sixth place “said Gamper.

He also added that the Argentine sommelier does not lack for anything, however, because it is very far, many products in the world do not arrive, and for a sommelier it is essential to know what is also being done outside. “The only complication in our country for the development of this activity is that imported products do not arrive, beyond having a great diversity of national products,” said the young sommelier.

And Donadio adds: “Compared to other countries, the level of Argentina is still growing steadily, as they have shown peace levinson (4th in 2016), Martin Bruno (15th in 2019) and now Valeria (6ta), always reaching the semi-finals and with good results or winning in competitions like in the two Pan American Games won by Paz and Valeria”. This competition, he felt, was a great learning experience, “in life you either win or you learn, and this is my first international experience and I was able to learn from each event. To be here is to have won, and I am already thinking of the Panamerican in which I will participate soon,” concluded Donadio.

For Valeria Gamper, Argentinian sommeliers have something special, “because without foreign products, we are very recognized in the world and has a strong presence in the sommelier industry with key positions and many notable women”. And he stressed: “I would like to thank my family, Andrea Donadio, Valeria Mortara and Marcela Rienzo (AAS representatives) for the psychological support, which has been essential at this stage. TO CAVE, where I was trained, for the remote support (virtually) which helped me a lot to fine tune the details, to AAS for their support and their attempt to raise the standards, and to the restaurant El molino de Urdániz for their support of the tastings”.

At yesterday’s ceremony, with the withdrawal of Pascaline Lepeltier (France), only the last three competitors remained on stage Nina Jensen (Denmark), Raymond Thompson (Latvia) and Reeze Choi (China). The final competition, which consisted of various challenges to test the sommeliers’ knowledge, tasting skills, sense of service and ability to remain calm under pressure, brought out the best of the candidates.

After announcing Reeze Choi as the finalist, Nina Jensen and Raimonds Tomsons knew that one of them would be named ASI World’s Best Sommelier 2023. After a moment of extreme anticipation, Raimonds Tomsons was announced as the winner by the President of there if, William Walters, amidst a great round of applause.

Today, the delegation of Argentinian sommeliers will take part in Vinexpo, an unmissable event for national and international players in the sector, which will bring together a wide range of wines and spirits and will see the participation of both small winegrowers and major international brands. with the motto “World in motion”Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris 2023 has set itself the task of venturing to carry out 100 tastings, master classes and multi-format debates.

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