The Art Institute of Vancouver Wine Professional Challenge (formerly the Sommelier Challenge) will be held on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 as part of the Playhouse International Wine Festival 2010 (http://www.playhousewinefest.com). This highly successful event, currently in its fifth year, is unique in Vancouver in giving sommeliers and wine professionals a chance to compete for the Puddifoot Award.
The winner will be presented with the Puddifoot Award: a Riedel Carafe, an Engraved Challenge trophy and a bottle of vintage port, by John Puddifoot, of WH Puddifoot Ltd, at the Seventh Annual Awards Lunch: Celebrating Excellence event on Friday, April 23, 2010. The winner will also receive a Trade Super Pass to the Playhouse International Wine Festival for 2011.
Event Details:
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Registration: 5:15 pm – 5:30 pm
Competition Start: 5:30 pm
Finish: 7:00 pm
Judging: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Award announced: 8:00 pm
Entry Guidelines and Information:
- Entry to the competition is FREE
- All entrants must be employed professionally in the wine industry in some capacity (e.g. retail, hospitality, production, agency)
- Entrants must be 19 years of age or older
- No one formal education style is preferred over another
This year competitors will be required to rotate around 5 judging stations. At each station, a competitor will be asked to talk for 3 minutes on a specified wine-related topic. Each station will represent a different subject area. The judges’ decision is final.
Competition space is limited. All entrants must email the following information by Thursday, April 8th 2010 to: mshipway@aii.edu or call 778 373 9022
1 – Name
2 – Telephone
3 – E-mail address
4 – Company name
5 – Position
6 – Wine Credentials (if held)
Organizers at The International Culinary School will create a shortlist and successful entrants will be contacted by email
This year’s judging panel:
Barbara Philip (MW)
Neil Ingram (Boneta Restaurant)
Michaela Morris AIWS (House Wine)
Stephen Bonner (ABV)
Mark Shipway AIWS (The International Culinary School)
Previous Sommelier Challenge winners:
2009 Keith Nicholson (Le Crocodile)
2008 Chris Giroux (Bacchus at the Wedgewood Hotel)
2006 Kimberley Hall (The Fairmont Waterfront)
2005 Pamela Cohen (International Sommelier Guild)
About WH Puddifoot Ltd
WH Puddifoot Ltd began as an import business specializing in high-end retail giftware, and has since grown into one of Vancouver’s premier fine-glassware retailers.
About The Art Institute of Vancouver
The Art Institute of Vancouver is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of more than 45 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
