On June 22, some of the top sommeliers in the province will put their sniffers to the test in an action-packed competition dubbed the Greatest Wine Show on Earth at Oliver & Bonacini's Arcadian Loft in the Simpson Tower, with the winner moving on to the all-Canada competition in 2015. The general public are invited to watch the proceedings free of charge. There is also a gala awards dinner that evening hosted by Barberian’s Steakhouse.
We tracked down one of this year’s judges (and past winner) Will Predhomme, formerly the sommelier at Canoe, who represented Canada in Tokyo last year at the international sommelier competition to get the inside scoop.
So how important is this competition?
It’s like the benchmark in my mind as far as the state of the sommelier community in Ontario, frankly. It is a very new, very burgeoning community compared to the rest of the world. It’s quite advanced in Quebec, Europe and some Asian countries as well. It’s a chance for sommeliers to show their stuff and get together as a community. It’s pretty awesome.
How many people are competing this year?
Looking at about 18 who are willing to put it on the line, so to speak.
Tell me about the competition. How do you guys gauge who has superior sniffing skill?
They are tested on a number of things, the three biggest: blind tasting, practical service and theory of beverage alcohol — wine, spirits, beers.
What’s the toughest?
It depends on who you are. Everyone has strengths, some people are phenomenal on service. Arguably, the blind tasting is the hardest part.
Why’s that?
You have to identify location, varieties, origin, vintage, producer if possible. That's anyone’s game. It’s a crap shoot.
Why did you become a sommelier?
When I turned 19, I was told I could get a job drinking for a living. I’m 33 now. When I started it was very unusual. I grew up in Windsor, and there wasn't much of a following for this stuff. Out west, I got into it and found it really fascinating. I took a couple courses, did well, and chose to pursue it as a profession.
And what are the rewards?
It can be extremely rewarding. You get to eat at the best restaurants, work with the best wines and the community — I’ve never seen it as good as it is.
What is your table wine at home?
Today you mean? I have a lot of dry rose in my fridge, and I’ve been drinking a lot of white.
Free advice time. What wine goes best with a good barbecue burger?
Let’s see, man. For summer grilling, say, a medium rare burger with bacon and cheese sounds pretty awesome. Maybe something like Barolo would be alright from Northern Italy. Or something French from the Rhone Valley — a syrah comes to mind. But I’d probably recommend beer to be honest.
If I want to impress my friends at home, what are a couple of the up and coming wine regions I should check out and then name drop?
Everything is about cost-benefit ratio, so finding a great quality wine for dollar you pay is important. I’d check out places that are relatively hard to pronouce, so not easily recognizable. They are challenging for the consumer, and also the reason I exist. Greece, for sure: they have some wonderful indigenous grape varieties. The quality is extremely high on a global level. South Africa — not just general list, but the wines in Vintages — some of their reds and whites are phenomenal. And then Ontario. There is a ton here that is extremely good, but we get a bad rap for whatever reason.
Seriously though, screw caps are fine right?
They’re awesome. They are the best, quite frankly. The idea that they aren’t just needs to be eliminated from mind. Maybe 300 years ago it made sense to shove a piece of tree bark into a bottle to close it, but they didn’t have screw caps…. To me, a screw cap is a sign of quality.
