Gerard Basset – Officially The World’s Best Sommeliers

GERARD BASSET, SOMMELIER AND WINE PROFESSIONAL PREPARES TO COMPETE AGAINST THE BEST SOMMELIERS IN THE WORLD

Gerard Basset, owner of Hotel TerraVina in Hampshire, has been selected to represent the UK in the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) World’s Best Sommelier Competition, being held on 10-16 April 2010 in Chile. Created in 1969, ASI is the official body for all professional sommeliers around the world.

Gerard has taken part in the prestigious ASI competition a number of times before, and has been a finalist three times previously and is doing all he can to win the title this year. “I am working very hard as I am determined to do well and to win the title would be the greatest achievement, in my career as a Sommelier. “It’s all about my preparation. It’s a huge commitment – I am putting in more than 20 hours a week both studying and practising service elements. I am regularly doing services in my own restaurant, as I have done for many years, but in addition I have convinced colleagues around the country to allow me to work services in their top establishments too. It is a great way to ensure that my service skills are polished and tip top, ready for the competition. This is THE title to win.”

The ASI World’s best Sommelier competition attracts candidates from each of the ASI’s member countries- (approx 50 countries). It is an arduous combination of written and practical exams, including blind tastings and service role plays to test the candidates’ knowledge of wines, spirits, and beverages, food and wine matching, as well as their service skills to determine the top three candidates for the final competition.

Basset, one half of the original co-founders of the successful Hotel du Vin chain has the distinction of being a Master of Wine, Master Sommelier and who has the Wine MBA….. now he would love to be crowned Best Sommelier in the World to the list.

To keep track of Gerard’s progress please follow him regularly from now until April here.

Another week of Studying and Tasting in preparation for the ASI World Sommelier Competition taking place in April in Chile…..

As most weeks I have been juggling working and running Hotel TerraVina with studying hard and tasting “blind” as many wines, spirits and liqueurs as possible. In fact our house resembles a wine enthusiast’s idea of Heaven as on every available counter, worktop and flat surface there are bottles of wines, which have been slurped or are in waiting to be tried and tasted- our friends and neighbours love the run up to a competition as they get the bottles of open wines shared amongst them, as it is impossible for Nina and I to drink as many as we open. The kitchen looks like a wine laboratory and Nina is cursing as she falls over piles and piles of books in every room and is having to eat dinner anywhere but in the dining room as that is where I am studying each day and so is strictly out of bounds for such ordinary pursuits as eating!

Thus blind tasting has started in earnest and whilst I am not unhappy with my progress, I am having a bit of bother with New World Viognier- I seem to have a weakness for identify this grape and I think it is the element of oak in many such wines that is throwing me at the moment… so I will just have to keep opening and tasting even more examples of Viognier to train my palate to identify it better.

In terms of theory study I have been ploughing my way through the multitude of Italian DOC’s….. there are so many to remember, but I think despite struggling with some of the names I am just about on top of them.

For a weekly update of Gerard’s progress with his competition preparations please follow him here……..

Preparations continue apace for the ASI World Sommelier Championship, in April- this week Whisky tasting

Many people associate a sommeliers job with the service of wine and knowledge of wines from all around the world. However there are many more dimensions to the role of a Sommelier and one of them is the knowledge of other beverages and products found both on a restaurant’s wine list and also on a bar’s cocktail and drinks list. For the purposes of the competition that I am currently busily preparing for candidates must also have the ability to “blind taste” alcoholic beverages such as liqueurs, digestives and Brandies, Cognacs, Whiskies and the like. This past week I chose to concentrate on Whiskies from around the globe and thus I have been swilling, sniffing, and tasting (albeit in miniscule amounts…… well a sommelier needs to keep a clear head!) all variations of Whisky from peaty ones from Islay, blended ones from Ireland, Bourbons from Kentucky and others from far and wide. The Whiskies are served in black coloured glasses so it is very difficult to see the hue of the liquid, thus giving even less of a clue as to its style and ensuing that the powers of deduction are almost entirely focused on your nose and possibly the palate if you taste a little of each liquid, with a long drink of water in between.

In addition to the Whiskies I am also continuing to blind taste wines from all over the world and I have also been practicing decanting skills at home under timed conditions…. I decant daily in my restaurant but without a stop watch ticking, so this is a good way of sharpening the skill of decanting within a rigid time frame.

Even more text books are now opened on the dining table, which is groaning under the weight and I have set up a mini restaurant scene in the lounge, where I can practice decanting, so Nina has even more reason to grumble at me!