How to be a world-class sommelier
The International Association of Sommelerie (ASI) Best Sommelier of the World contest got underway in Lisbon on Sunday with the final taking place on Friday, when the new champion will win the coveted title. The good news? You don’t have to travel to Portugal to watch it (although we’d always recommend travelling to this beautiful wine country!). The organizers are streaming the final online, and you can sit back with a glass of your favorite red or white and watch it here.
Speaking to Westgarth Wines about the event, ASI President, William Wouters outlined the essential characteristics of a top-rate modern sommelier. “Telling the story of a wine is more than just flavors and structure. Sommeliers need to be nuanced storytellers, capable of describing time, place, and people,” he said. “Customers today are incredibly well-informed. By the time they sit down at a table, many already know the region, the grape variety, and the winemaking processes. That said, information is not the same as understanding, and that is where restaurant sommeliers still play a vital role.”
In the 18th edition of this triennial sommelier competition, candidates are participating from 66 countries. Today, these extend beyond nations traditionally associated with wine to include African and Asian sommeliers.
Just three top sommeliers will win the privilege of taking part in the final. The finalists will be tested on their gastronomy knowledge, undertake blind wine tasting to identify labels, spirits and other beverages, be put through demanding wine service tasks, and asked to match a variety of drinks with food - all on the spot in front of a live theater audience of thousands! Beyond the technical expertise and knowledge, they’ll be tested on something less tangible but just as important: How can a sommelier use expertise to enhance the guest experience and make a meaningful contribution to the restaurant or business in which they work?
The results will be announced immediately. What more could a fine wine lover want than a front-row seat to such a sommelier competition?
What is the ASI
Founded in 1969, the International Association of Sommelerie is the global governing body for sommellerie, promoting wine education, excellence, ethics, and international cooperation. Alongside the Best Sommelier of the World event, the body also supports regional competitions and sommelier awards.
Under Wouter’s tenure, education continues to be a prime focus. “We have gone from a contest-focused association to one that places as much or more emphasis on sommelier training and education. To this end, we’ve created platforms to make education accessible,” he explained. “We also organize bootcamps, seminars, online tutorials, and mentorship sessions. The opportunity for our sommeliers, particularly those living in smaller, more isolated countries, to share a table and learn from each other is transformative. This is the spirit behind ASI education: To create unity through shared standards while celebrating the diversity of our global community.”
American finalist
Master Sommelier Mark Guillaudeu will represent the United States in Lisbon. A member of the Court of Master Sommeliers, his hospitality career began towards the end of graduate school, where he was studying Tibetan Buddhism. After moving to San Francisco, he joined a Michelin-star restaurant and began building a name for himself as one of America’s leading sommeliers.
In 2016, he earned his WSET Diploma and, that same year, he entered the Master of Wine program. He ultimately won the title of Best Sommelier USA in 2022. A year later, Guillaudeu represented the United States at the Concours Mondial in Paris, becoming the first American to reach the semi-finals. Later that year, he gained the prestigious Master Sommelier Diploma.
Guillaudeu is a believer in study, discipline, mindfulness, physical fitness – and getting enough sleep! He regards sommeliers as “mental athletes”, capable of maintaining concentration and attentiveness to customers. As to his favorite wines, he loves Rioja, Grüner Veltliner, Etna Rosso.
On the wider candidate list, three candidates are in Lisbon as reigning regional champions. Canada’s Joris Gutierrez Garcia, the 2025 ASI Best Sommelier of the Americas, will be joined by China’s Reeze Choi, the 2025 ASI Best Sommelier of Asia & Pacific, and Estonia’s Mikk Parre, the 2024 ASI Best Sommelier of Europe, Africa & the Middle East. They will compete alongside a strong international cohort featuring numerous finalists from ASI’s other regional competitions.
Wouters believes the quality and breadth of this year’s contestants make the competition particularly difficult to predict. “I think it is fair to say that the world of sommellerie has never been so diverse, so well-educated or so balanced. Looking over the list of candidates, it is impossible to pick out just a couple of favorites to win the title.”
What do the sommelier champions say?
Raimonds Tomsons of Latvia, the incumbent ASI Best Sommelier of the World, believes client connection is what separates technical ability from truly exceptional wine hospitality. “You need to read the consumer to understand what they are expecting,” he says. “This is really the art of sommellerie.”
Paolo Basso, who won the world title in 2013, focuses on the sommelier’s wider importance beyond the immediate dining experience. “We can also be central to building customer loyalty,” he said in a recent interview for ASI Magazine. “Today, we (sommeliers) have to be wine sellers. The most important thing is being able to sell.”
Only one candidate will leave Lisbon with the coveted title. That said, the week will offer sommeliers from across the world an opportunity to share knowledge, represent their communities, and demonstrate the day-to-day value of the profession: Expert recommendations, unexpected discoveries, and a more memorable, enjoyable experience at the table for diners.
For Wouters, the cornerstone purpose of sommellerie remains unchanged, even as the profession evolves. He describes the sommelier’s essential skill as “the ability to connect people to a moment, through a glass, with care and intention.”
Watch the final of the 18th ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World 2026 here (14:30 BST).
Feature image: International Association of Sommelerie (ASI)
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