The 2024 Best Irish Sommelier Competition took place on Monday 29th April, 2024 at Beckett Lock, in the Point Square Village in Dublin. The winner will represent Ireland at the ASI Europe & Africa Best Sommelier Competition in Belgrade in November 2024. All the competitors are current members of the Irish Guild of Sommeliers.
There are 41 member countries within ASI from Europe and Africa. Each can send one candidate to the contest of the ASI Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa. To represent their country, competitors must first take part in a rigorous assessment organised by their national association. The Irish Guild of Sommeliers (IGOS) under the management of President, Morgan Vanderkamer, are the organising body of the Irish arm of the competition.
The time Irish Sommeliers spend studying and practicing is not unlike that of an Olympic athlete. Contestants must be proficient in the service of all beverages including wine, beer, spirits, water, coffee, tea they must also have an encyclopaedic knowledge of their production methods, regulations and laws and any other subjects related to their production.
ASI contests involve rigorous tests of a Sommelier’s skill and knowledge. The Irish competition included a test on theoretical knowledge via a written test, service skills and a blind tasting. The final also includes a series of service skill testing tasks which takes place in front of a live audience.
This year’s competitors for the 2024 Best Irish Sommelier were Mateusz Kiezmierski, Illia Paterylo, Anke Hartmann and Jacques Savary de Beauregard who were assessed by an IGOS judging panel including Austin Finn Silex Wine, Dermot Cawley TU Dublin and Liam Campbell, WSET wine educator and wine journalist with Hotel & Restaurant Times. The competition is co-ordinated and organised by IGOS Member, Niav McNamara.
The Best Sommelier in Ireland Award for 2024 was won by Anke Hartmann for the second year in a row. Anke will now represent Ireland in the Europe/Africa contest in Serbia in November.
About the Irish Guild of Sommeliers
The Guild of Sommeliers in Ireland (IGOS) was founded in 1958 and has, since 1972, been affiliated to the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) for the past fifty-two years. Today the IGOS operates as part of the ASI governing body. The main aims of the Guild are to promote a greater knowledge of and interest in wines and their service for their members, as well as arranging educational and cultural activities for the professional Sommelier’s who are part of their membership.
