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At the recently concluded edition of IFE India 2008, something was different. Sure they managed to pull a relevant crowd in spite of the prevailing turmoil and unrest but, for the first time, a sommelier competition was organised to gauge the level of competence of the boys who bring us the bottle. No points for guessing who the organiser and conductor was.

So, not intending to blow my own trumpet, I would merely like to share the proceedings of this unusual afternoon so that you know what to expect when you are bottle-browsing next time.

The participation was from the top hotels of Delhi and I am sure will only expand with the years. Each contestant presented himself and was then quizzed on his pairing capabilities — he was shown names of dishes to which he had to pair wines of his choice and also explain why.

Then, the reverse was done and he had to suggest food to go with wines. Finally, he was given a wine list with some errors incorporated and he had to weed them out. This was then followed by the practical exercise of opening, serving, pouring and commenting on a wine while the judges tasted the same wine.

Not easy I assure you and for those who were there, for the first time they saw sommelier skills as they are supposed to be. The competition standard, I admit, although lower than what happens in the West was still pretty daunting.

There weren’t just marks for technical mastery, the contestants were also evaluated on
their preparedness (they should carry their own openers and service cloths), fluency and command of language, and most importantly, confidence and flair. From the way they conducted themselves to the way they poured and tasted, it was all relevant. Wine is, after all, more experience and less beverage.

Such competitions are commonplace in the West where the numbers are higher and I felt it was high time that we too formalised this in some manner. Sure a hotel representative may have the upper edge but the candidates are given all that is deemed necessary to bring out the best in them and in their craft.

Nothing is sub-standard — from the top wines of the world for tastingto world class equipment like Pulltex wine openers and Riedel glassware — all is provided to
each participant to create a high-quality yet level playing field.

On the whole, it couldn’t have been easy to stand in front of the three men who pretty much orchestrate the Delhi wine scene — Stephane Soret of Imperial, Andrew Steele of Shangri-La and Angelo De Ioia of The Oberoi — and then hold forth on their choices of wine to go with a particular dish.

The competition will take place next year and my only concern will be to try and fly in contestants from other parts of India to participate.

The winner, Hanuman Singh, came from The Imperial New Delhi and second and third spot went to Subbaraman and Vikas Gupta, both of Taj Palace, New Delhi. Other candidates from the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi were also commendable, and overall, all of them managed to impress the judges. If you happen to be dining at any of these places, know that you are in good hands.

The writer is a sommelier