Kelowna man takes first place in national young sommelier award
A Kelowna man went head to head in a competition with Canada’s best young sommeliers and came out on top.
Maxwell Brayer, 23, won Canada’s Top Young Sommelier at the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs National Competition at the Ranchman’s Club in Calgary.
The competition tests sommelier’s under 29 on their wine and spirit knowledge under “highly competitive, intense testing conditions,” according to a press release.
Sommeliers battled it out through a written exam, practical sommelier skills like decanting and glassware selection, menu pairing, and a blind taste test.
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Brayer’s win in Calgary has qualified him to go up against the best young sommelier’s in the world. Brayer is getting an all expenses paid trip to compete in the international Top Young Sommelier competition in Portugal in October.
The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is an international association of gastronomy with 21,000 members of restaurateurs, hoteliers, executive chefs, and sommeliers in more than 75 countries.
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The young sommelier competitions aim to help the next generation of sommeliers and encourage more people to get into the space.
For local wine enthusiasts, the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Kelowna chapter is hosting two upcoming events the “Velley En Premiere” wine pairing event at the Laurel Packing House on April 18, and the “Kelowna Polo Classic” on June 29.
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