Court of Master Sommeliers

CMS News

Seven candidates gain the Advanced Sommelier award
The Advanced Sommelier course and examination was held during the week of 21st November 2011. at the Hotel du ...more

New Sonoma AVA
A new AVA in Sonoma has been approved
Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak AVA overlaps portions of Alexander Val...more

Commis Sommelier / Sommelier Vacancy, London
Please see the Job opportunity section of our web pages for details of a vacancy for a Sommelier at the Gilbe...more

Sponsors of the Court

Latest News Stories

Seven candidates gain the Advanced Sommelier award
The Advanced Sommelier course and examination was held during the week of 21st November 2011. at the Hotel du Vin in Harrogate.
Seven candidates successfully passed the examination and can now go forward to the Master Sommelier Diploma.
Candidates from many countries around the world including five candidates from Australia, also from South Africa, Greece & Sweden attended the course
Tobias Brauweiler from Ellenborough Park in Cheltenham was the recipient of the Pommery Award for the highest overall score in the examination and was presented with a bottle of Cuvee Louise at the awards ceremony on the 25th November.
Another successful candidate was Jarrod Mills from Sydney Australia who attended the course as the recipient of the Petluma Scholarship, awarded to top scoring candidates in the Certified examinations held in Australia annually.
Great success was achieved by the candidates from Australia with four of the five attending the course passing the qualification
The Advanced Certificate was awarded to:
Clio Giudici - Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon. UK
Tobias Brauweiler - Ellenborough Park, Cheltenham, UK
Stefan Neumann, - The Fat Duck, Bray, UK
Jarrod Mills - The Merivale Group, Sydney, Australia
Joshua Elias - Attica Restaurant, Victoria, Australia
Mark Protheroe - Grossi Fioentino Restaurant , Victoria, Australia.
Tom Hogan, Lake House Hotel, Daylsford, Victoria Australia
The Court of Master Sommeliers would like to congratulate all candidates who participated in the course for the high level of skills demonstrated in the examinations. All candidates participating in the program passed at least one part of the examination
Thanks also to our sponsors who continually support the organisation..
Pommery Champagne for the Pommery Award,
Hotel du Vin for the facilities and accommodation to run the course
Riedel for the glassware used in our Advanced and Masters examination.
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New Sonoma AVA
A new AVA in Sonoma has been approved
Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak AVA overlaps portions of Alexander Valley, Northern Sonoma, and the southern portions of Mendocino County.
The original name for the AVA, Pine Mountain-Mayacamas, was changed after protests from the Napa Valley Vintners..
November - 2011

Commis Sommelier / Sommelier Vacancy, London
Please see the Job opportunity section of our web pages for details of a vacancy for a Sommelier at the Gilbert Scott restaurant in London
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Three new Master Sommeliers announced at the UK Masters Examination
Three new Master Sommeliers were announced at the culmination of the Master Sommeliers examinations which were held in London 27th - 29th October
The three successful candidates achieving the award were:
Alex Koblinger Sommelier at the Restaurant- Hotel Obauer in Werfen, Austria,
Franck Moreau, Group Sommelier for Merivale, Sydney, Australia
Edouard Oger Sommelier at Gidleigh Park, Devon.
The recipient of the Grande Siecle trophy for the highest overall score in the examination was Edouard Oger. He was presented with the award by Ms Emma Russell of Champagne Laurent Perrier.
Twenty candidates participated in this years examinations. The successful Masters were presented with their awards at a gala dinner at the Dorchester Hotel.
The Court of Master Sommeliers would like to extend our congratulations not only to the new Masters, but to all the participants who passed one or more sections of the examination this year.
October 2011
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Gerard Basset OBE
The Court of Master Sommeliers Would like to congratulate our president, Gerard Basset OBE. on his investiture on the 20th October at Windsor Castle. The Ceremony was performed by HRH Princess Anne.
Gerard has been a great ambassador for the Court during his time as President and we are thrilled to see he has the recognition he richly deserves.

Click Here for Photo
October - 2011

Proposals to create Sub districts within Penedes DO
The Penedes region of Spain is preparing for changes to its appellation system.
A campaign by the producers to demarcate the region into five or six sub-zones, with emphasis on promoting some superior sub-regions within the generic appellation.
There are two chains of mountains and a valley in the middle of Penedès, resulting in different microclimates and varying soil compositions - all these differences make five or six distinct areas which give different wines.’ Vines grow from sea level up to to 800m.
The proposed sub-regions are Penedès–Garraf, Ordal, Alt Penedes, Central Valley A and Central Valley B. A sixth sub-zone is still being decided upon.
A study to establish the boundaries for each sub-zone, is being conducted before submitting proposals to the Penedès Wine Council.this could take two years to implement.

October - 2011

Grand Cru status for Quarts de Chaume
Quarts de Chaume is to become the Loire Valley's first Grand Cru
The proposal has recently been approved by the INAO
Also approved was the creation of Coteaux du Layon Premiere Cru Chaume
The regulations will require Quarts de Chaume to limit yields to 20hl / ha with a minimum potential alcohol level of 18.5%
Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume. 25hl/ha with 16.5% potential alcohol
There will be no chaptalisation permitted for either wine.
October - 2011

New AOC regulations for Beaujolais
Although Beaujolais producers have had the right label their wines Bourgogne since 1937, it has been a source of dispute between the two regions.
. 43 communes have lost the right to call their white wines AOC Bourgogne Blanc and will instead have to label whites AOC Beaujolais Blanc,. (42 communes have retained the right to label their wines AOC Bourgogne Blanc)
INAO based their decisions on which communes should be included on grounds of terroir and longevity.
Beaujolais cru villages have not been affected. Nine of the ten Beaujolais Crus ( except Regnié, because it only became a Cru in 1988) will retain the right to use the label AOC Bourgogne, with the restriction that if the wine contains more than 30% of Gamay, the label must be AOC Bourgogne Gamay (new AOC)
AOC Coteaux Bourguignon.
A new AOC Coteaux Bourguignon, will replace the existing AOC Bourgogne Grande Ordinaire over the next five years. This appellation will be open to both Burgundy and Beaujolais producers.
October - 2011

Chaine de Rotisseurs. International Jeune Sommelier Competition,2011 Athens - Results.
The International final of the Chaine de Rotisseurs, Jeune Sommelier competition took place at the Grande Bretagne Hotel, Athens, on Friday 16th September.
The Finalists in the competition were judged by a team of Master Sommeliers through a series of tasks to assess their competence in the restaurant, their wine knowledge and their ability to taste and evaluate wines.
Winner of this years competition was Ian Cauble representing the United States. Ian is Sommelier at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, San Francisco.
Runner up representing Great Britain was Remi Cousin, Sommelier at the Fat Duck in Bray.
Third place went to the home nation of Greece. Nikolaos Giannopoulos. Sommelier at the Astir Palace in Athens.
Other candidates participating in the competition were:
Daniel Wegener - The Quay Restaurant , Sydney, Australia
Christian Jacobsen - MASH Restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Arttu Sademaa - Restaurant Smor, Turku, Finland.
Polina Gridasova, Restaurant Mansarda, St Petersburg. Russia.
Gareth Ferreira, The Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mustafa Zorluoglu, Sunset Grill & Bar, Istanbul, Turkey.
The Court of Master Sommeliers wishes to congratulate all the contestants on their success in attaining a place in the finals of this prestigious competition . The standard of the competition was particularly high and all contestants impressed the judges with their skills.
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Pommard producers apply to create Gand Cru's
The union of producers in Pommard will apply to the French appellation authority INAO to promote the premier cru Rugiens and Epenots appellations to grand cru.
Since April this year, a geography and viticulture specialist has been working with Pommard vintners to produce a report to show how both Rugiens (just under 13 hectares) and Epenots (27 hectares) should be considered grand cru based on history, terroir and price.
  One difficulty are distinctions between Rugiens Bas and Rugiens Haut and between Grands- and Petits-Epenots.
Pommard has 27 premier crus and its total vineyards total approx 320 hectares.
August - 2011

Machine Harvesting ban in Burgundy Grand Cru Monopoles
Machine harvesting will be banned in Burgundy's five grands crus monopoles from the 2011 vintage, with a complete ban across all grand cru vineyards expected by 2014
The change will come into effect during the upcoming harvest
While the law change only concerns the five grands crus monopoles, which already hand harvest 100% of their fruit, it is hoped this sets a precedent for the rest of Burgundy’s grands crus producers.
The aim is to eradicate machine harvesters in all grands crus by 2014.
The five grands crus monopoles have also reduced the maximum yield per hectare. And has also tightened the requirement that a varietal wine must contain 85% of the stated variety to 95%.
August - 2011

2011 Champagne harvest increases yield per hectare
The harvest limit has been set at 12,500 kilogrammes per hectare (kg/ha) by the region’s trade body, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), compared to 10,500 kg/ha in 2010 and 9,700kg/ha in 2009.
Of the permitted 12,500 kg/ha, 2000kg will be released from the existing wine reserves while 3100kg of fruit will be picked to put into the reserve.
This means 13,600kg/ha will be harvested in total.
August - 2011

New Course Date 2012
The first UK dates for the Introductory course and Certified Sommelier examination of 2012 have been announced. The venue will be the Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool. Early booking is essential to guarantee a place. For further details and application form please see our course listings.
August - 2011

Advanced Sommeliers Examination – London
Six Sommeliers from around the world were successful in the recent Advanced Sommelier Examination hosted by Hakkasan at their London training centre. Successful candidates were:
Loic Avril – The Fat Duck – Bray
Alexandre Ceret – The Greenhouse – London
Phillipe Moranges – Hakkasan – London
Pierrebatista Tognini – Switzerland
Robert Volz - Oregon, USA
Leonard de Vries – Cristal Cruises
Rajeshwaren Gopal – Singapore

Loic Avril of the Fat Duck in Bray was the recipient of the Pommery award for the highest score in all three parts of the examination and was presented with a magnum of Cuvee Louise by Samantha Findlay - sales and distribution for the Vranken-Pommery Monopole portfolio in the UK.
July 2011
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Thailands Best Sommelier Competition 2011
The fourth edition of the prestigious annual ‘Thailand’s Best Sommelier Competition’ was held at the Dusit Thani Bangkok on June 30 – July 1, 2011. Once again talented sommeliers from around the kingdom arrived at the hotel to showcase their skills in front of a panel of judges in the hope of being declared Thailand’s Best Sommelier. Winning the competition this year was Mr Chaiyaporn Phantuvadeethon, a sommelier at D'Sens Restaurant, Dusit Thani Bangkok. A competition finalist for the past three years, Mr Chaiyaporn made a name for himself this June when he became one of only three sommeliers in Thailand to be awarded the prestigious Certified Sommelier title from the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide.
July - 2011