Champagne Ruinart and Sommeliers Australia announce the 2019 Ruinart Sommelier Challenge will be held in Sydney on Monday, March 18. Applicants will go in the running for chance to win a business class trip to France for training at Maison Ruinart.

Applications can be made online until 22 February 2019 and entry is open to all registered ‘Sommelier Members’ of Sommeliers Australia. This year, the Sommelier Challenge will select only 25 of Australia’s top sommelier talent to compete.

The Sommelier Challenge reflects Champagne Ruinart’s commitment to the development of the global Sommelier community, and invites sommeliers to test their skills with a blind tasting of four wines before a technical lecture and lunch with Ruinart Winemaker Caroline Fiot.

The judging panel will select one sommelier from the group, based upon their blind tasting responses, to be the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge 2019 winner. The winner will be announced on 18 March 2019 at the conclusion of the training day.

The 2019 Ruinart Sommeliers Challenge will be held at the Flying Fish restaurant at The Star.

The winner of the Ruinart Sommeliers Challenge will receive a return business class trip to France to attend a four-day educational trip to Reims , hosted by Ruinart Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaïotis, in July 2019. The trip is an opportunity for top sommeliers from around the world to immerse themselves in the world of Champagne and enjoy tastings and experiences along with different producers, varieties and wines. The prize provides networking with peers from around the world.

Fiot says of the Challenge: “We are committed to supporting the global sommelier community through career development and are pleased to work with Sommeliers Australia for the sixth year running. I am thrilled to return to Australia to discover the high level of competition following on from the 2018 Challenge.”

To register for the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge, please visit the website.