Raimonds Thomsons from Riga – the winner of the World Best Sommelier Trophy!
If there wasn’t the name of the new champion, the event in our region would probably have gone unnoticed. But in the news, there were familiar local names: “Vincents” Restaurant, Martins Ritins, Elizabeth’s Street, Riga. And, surprisingly enough, Latvia's Raimonds Thomson won the World Sommelier Championship 2023.
“Vincents” is a restaurant on Elizabeth’s Street in Riga. Mārtiņš Ritiņš is the famous Chef of this restaurant and the first and main mentor of future champion Raimonds Thomson. I have only been to the “Vincents” restaurant once and our trip did not bring any pleasure or "pleasant aftertaste" - as sommeliers often say about wine. I asked one of my former university friends from Riga, Aleks, if he had ever been to “Vincents”? -Yes, we had lunch there. The saddest memories. Apart from black gloves on the waiters, like stewardesses at Finnair, nothing interesting or tasty, - Alex told me. But then and now “Vincents” is considered to be one of the prestigious restaurants in Riga. So, what's the deal? Maybe it's the prices, which were off the charts, by our standards. And maybe that's how it should be: prices are separate, but the (average) visitor's experience is separate. And, of course, I wanted to get a fresh perspective on what it was all about: the World Sommelier Championship. On the YouTube link, I watched the third day of the competition, Thomsons had significant advantages over his competitors. He was better than Nina Jensen and Hong Kong's Reeze Choi.
The big prize, as I understand it, is that Raimonds Thomsons is now highly welcomed for a job in any prestigious restaurant in the world. But, in all competitions (and prizes) today, it is considered the norm to state the amount of prize money. Imagine, the Nobel Committee, as of tomorrow, refuses to disclose the prize amount but believes that any physicist laureate will be welcomed into any prestigious university with open arms. Certainly, also, to me a complete amateur in the world of wine, it was not all that clear what was going on on the stage at La Défense near Paris.
My questions were kindly answered by the sommelier Ljudmila Bobik.
To introduce Ljudmila, here is a short quote from my correspondence with her:
"Thanks to the world's best schools, I understood how this complex and complicated business functions. And then it all depends on the talent and ability to keep researching and the desire to constantly add to your knowledge.
Practice is the best teacher. After my academic study, I was lucky enough to have the experience to work as a sommelier in one of London's Michelin restaurants. But feeling caged up in the restaurant walls, I then changed my field of work. I moved to France, to the beautiful Loire region, where I continue to discover wine culture for everyone who is interested in it. But the discipline of the London school still can be observed, which is hard or impossible to get rid of. I sometimes joke and called it military training. This is how, and not otherwise, things work in hospitality with the highest standards of service. Amidst the beauty of the vineyards and local wineries, this service I only need during masterclasses - and it's pure pleasure."
And here is an incomplete (but solid) list of her degrees and certificates: Certified by Court of Masters Sommelier – London, Certified by WSET Level 3 Wine Specialist – London, Member of the UK Sommelier Association, MS2&MBA in Wine Marketing & Management - Bordeaux, FR.
So, we started the discussion of the third and final day of the competition...
- The third day with three competitors making it to the final. We see how one person, trying to serve two or three tables with guests. He is now performing the function of a waiter. Service, as I understand it, includes helping the guest choose wines according to their tastes and, in fact, the serving itself. How can a sommelier know the guest's tastes if the guest himself often does not know his own taste?
I couldn't agree more with your last sentence. But, the purpose of the sommelier competition is to determine the level of knowledge and technique of serving wine. There is a strict statute - what happens, when, and in what sequence during service. The difference between a sommelier and a waiter is big. The waiter's job is to serve the table.
The waiter's main functions are to set the table and understand the menu. When the meal is over, professionally remove the plates from the table. By the way, wine glasses are always taken away by a sommelier - if there is one in a restaurant. Only the sommelier serves glasses, depending on the type and style of wine chosen. He recommends the wine after the guests have decided and ordered their dishes.
Now about the service at the competition: the jury - guests were evaluating the technical side (according to the rules), and knowledge of wines and cocktails, so the sommeliers talked a lot about the features of wine. The thing is, there is no telling in advance what kind of wines will be served.
It is important to understand that all judges are very titled guests. They are former champions of the world sommelier contests of the past years, Masters of Wine (the highest title in the wine world), wine critics - journalists, and owners of famous restaurants. Therefore, the contestants are always anxious. Another non-standard situation was the absence of a restaurant manager to test the sommelier's wits and complicate the task (due to the time limit for tasks). But in restaurants, such situations are extremely rare, as the restaurant manager usually has an assistant.
- Proportionally (do you know or assume?), a waiter competition might change the balance of power among of the sommelier contestants? At the championships, it was clear that Raymond had gone through a lot of life school at the restaurant Mārtiņš Riņš's “Vincentes”.
The waiter is a professional in everything to do with cuisine (knowledge of the dishes, how to prepare them, what to serve in which dishes, and restaurant menu service technique).
A sommelier is an encyclopaedia person, who;
knows everything about all wine regions of the world, about the climatic and geographical conditions that influence the choice and growing conditions of the grapes, as well as the techniques of wine harvesting and wine production.
He/she has knowledge of all the wine-growing regions of the world in detail, knows the villages in those regions, places and the most famous winemakers
Knows the differences between wines made from the same grape variety, but from different countries and is able to explain the local conditions that influence these differences to the same grapes from different continents
has knowledge about the good, best and worst years/vintages, which influence the quality of the final product - wine.
knows the history of the most famous wine houses, important dates
makes a professional assessment of wine: to determine whether or not it has
the potential for ageing. Determines the wine's aroma and flavour where it came from, the year, method of production, and type of barrels used for maturation if the wine's aroma and flavour have been identified it.
-He/she also identifies the wine faults and what exactly has caused these problems.
understands the pricing
understands food& wine pairing (what kind of wine goes with what kind of dish)
also understands all types of spirits, water, beer, and cocktails.
and finally, the service: how to store the wine, the serving temperature
(it depends on type, style and grape variety), the right shape of glasses for different wines, and the rules of serving wine.
I have described it to an experienced sommelier - a real professional.
I hope I made it clear in explaining the differences between a waiter and a sommelier.
I would also add that the position of a sommelier is only appropriate in restaurants with an exclusive and large wine list. Not all restaurants can afford this luxury. A sommelier's profession requires many years of practice and an enormous amount of knowledge, which entails a very large investment and a lot of wine-tasting practices too. This is why sommeliers are highly regarded and well-paid professionals.
- Blind tasting. Do you think it's hard to fool an experienced sommelier?
I wouldn't use the expression fool, but rather confusing. Which is what we saw in the competition. None of the contestants had identified the Semillon grape variety (the correct answers were put on the screen at the end of the competition). It was the white wines in the third and fourth glasses. The same variety, but from different countries, even continents, means differences in soil composition, microclimate, and production technics. And that's what I mentioned earlier. Then, when the stone samples were brought - the situation became clearer because the sommeliers are also experts in the geology of all the wine regions of the world. The composition of the soil is a very important component of the success of the final product - the wine.
The sommeliers were very quick and precise in identifying the classic varieties of whites in the first and second glass samples.
- Is the selection of the dishes a difficult competition?
This is the most enjoyable part of the competition. But here you have to surprise with an interesting description or some subtle special non-standard choice - a recommendation, but again beautifully justify the recommendation. In a restaurant, guests enjoy this part of the service in a special way.
- If you were creating a wine list for a good restaurant (according to your own tastes), what budget would you need? Which wines (and their names) would you be sure to include?
For a decent and interesting wine list, you need about half a million euros, taking into account the fact that you still need to add turnover costs to constantly replenish the wine storage. We are talking about introducing the best examples from all the wine regions of the world, but the dominant ones, of course, are the so-called Old-World wines (these are well-known wine houses from the top 6 European wine regions).
There would be around 450 – 500 names on my wine list.
Wine-list would be divided into categories: сhampagne, sparkling, white, red, rose, sweet, fortified, port, sherry, and sake). Plus, there are two types of wine-by-glass (popular and exclusive ones served by Coravin).
- What did you like about the organization of the championship and what was not? Does the tournament resonate widely with sommeliers?
There was a great organisation, but still, this competition is like a sport. A very famous and talented French sommelier Pascaline Lepertier did not make it to the final. She ended up fourth instead of third in the list of semi-finalists due to a small mistake in the semi-finals - incorrect interpretation of the cocktail task. It's a game of fate because Pascaline is known and appreciated worldwide in the professional wine community as a true professional with
a lot of experience. That's why the audience applauded her for so long after she was declared fourth.
The competition is followed by a niche audience of HoReCa professionals. There are countries where even today few people know who a sommelier is.
- So, is a cool sommelier's salary comparable to that of a famous athlete?
No, of course not, but I don't see the logic in it either.
Sport is a mass type of entertainment. There are, of course, exclusive sports. But I've never thought about fees. I was not interested in it.
Wine is art. Rare wine, not the stuff on the supermarket shelves.
- Please comment, if you don't mind, about the instruments with which a sommelier works. Is it difficult to ensure the immaculate cleanliness of glasses? Why does the bottle lie in the basket and the wine doesn't spill after the cork is pulled out?
The essential instrument is a good corkscrew. Next, a couple of other accessories: cloth napkins, coasters for wine bottles and cork, decanter, Coravin, candles, and special wine stoppers.
For perfect glass condition, there is a little secret: after the glass has been washed, it should be dipped into a solution of very hot water with a little vinegar and immediately wiped down thoroughly.
Only mature wines are placed in the basket for corking and further decanting. But there are modern wine racks for securing aged wine and easy corking. They are much more convenient and, in my opinion, more aesthetically pleasing than the basket. Why put it in a basket, you ask? When stored and aged properly, wine bottles lie down instead of standing up. Consequently, sediment or tartar forms over the years. That's why the bottle is gently removed from the refrigerator (or the cellar shelf) without shaking the sediment and muddying the wine. A little further note: bottles with screws cap, plastic corks or wines ready to drink in general are not stored lying down. This is not necessary. Why not? There is an explanation. But that's an interesting topic of its own.
- What is the desired glass size for wine tasting? And are there branded glasses for such occasions?
There is a special shape of glass for professional tasting. But in the competition, standard glasses for white and red wine were used.
- Do sommeliers taste spirits too? Or just wines?
All kinds of alcohol are tasted: wine, spirits, and beer.
How does one learn and remember all these drinks? I don't know.
But the Yellow Road blog is still going on. And we join in the numerous congratulations to the first (Baltic) world champion sommelier Raimonds Thomsons.
Sergey Evtuhov, author of The Yellow Road
