Tang Li
THE first competition for sommeliers, the Penfolds China Sommelier Competition 2008, finished in Shanghai recently with Lu Yang from Xinjiang winning the championship.
The event, co-hosted by prestigious Australian winery Penfolds and ASC Fine Wines , China's largest fine wine distributor, aims to promote the expertise of the food and beverage professional and encourage the mastery of wine knowledge.
More than 100 food and beverage professionals in China attended the competition, which comprised a comprehensive written examination testing wine knowledge and tests of practical wine exercises, including blind tasting, decanting and food and wine service.
"The Sommelier profession is still very new in China. This event provided tremendous help to Chinese sommeliers by giving us a platform to communicate with our peers and promote a better understanding of this profession to the general public, "said the winner Lu, who is studying wines in Canada and working as a sommelier in a Toronto restaurant.