Ever wonder what goes on in Rogers Arena when the Canucks aren’t chasing a puck down the ice? Imagine three sommeliers facing off to test their mettle in the art of wine service. Last Monday (Jan. 25) Rogers played host to the Best Sommelier of BC competition. No body checking with ice buckets or smashing into sideboards with wine glasses, this was a much more civilized competition than hockey. All that went flying were the Champagne corks when the winner was announced.
The competition is an initiative of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, CAPS for short. This trade association traces its lineage to the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale based in Paris, France. CAPS has chapters in Atlantic Canada, Québec, Ontario, Manitoba and, as of 2014, British Columbia. Establishing a provincial competition was top priority for BC chapter president Michelle Bouffard who believes “it raises awareness of the sommelier profession while helping build a strong community for those working in it.”
Jason Yamasaki, sommelier at Chambar Restaurant, triumphed at the inaugural competition just over a year ago and is living proof of Bouffard’s sentiments. This year, rather than compete again, he assumed the role of mentor holding a series of practice sessions leading up to the competition. “It’s my way of giving back to everything that CAPS has given to me in the last year.”
Note that Yamasaki is essentially grooming his opponent, as both he and this year’s winner will compete at the national level next year. Yamasaki prefers to think of the winner as his co-representative.
“The camaraderie that I witnessed among the Ontario and Québec teams last year showed that each province was really proud of its own competitors as a whole rather than each going head to head against each other.”
So who will be representing BC with Yamasaki next year? Ten professional sommeliers threw their hat in the ring. The competition started with a preliminary round in which all sat a written theory exam and blind tasting. The top three scorers went on to compete live as an audience of their peers cheers them on. The challenges included a simulated service of sparkling wine and wine decantation as well as food and wine pairing, wine list correction and an oral blind tasting.
First-time competitor Sean Nelson of Vij’s made it to the final round and earned the title Best Taster of the Day. But he had stiff competition overall.
As a returning finalist, Shane Taylor, wine director at CinCin noted: “My advantage is that I went through it last year.” This didn’t quell his nerves completely though. “The live component is the most daunting. Really you are just hoping not to embarrass yourself in front of your peers.”
Taylor’s performance was impressive and he lost by a mere single point. Certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
After deliberating for three and a half hours, the judges awarded the title of Best BC Sommelier 2016 to Alistair Veen of Tap restaurant in South Surrey. Veen can bask in the glory for now but he has his sights set on grander goals. In one year's time he'll be competing in not just one but two languages against some of Canada’s most talented sommeliers. That sounds worthy of centre ice.
