The Singapore Best Sommelier in French Wines 2016 final was recently held in Raffles Singapore’s Casuarina Room. Part of a series of competitions that Sopexa has organised across Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, the Singapore edition saw four contestants go through a series of tricky challenges to impress a panel of judges comprising writers, educators, sommeliers and F&B veterans. Some of the experts included head judge Jean Pascal Paubert, epicure publisher Cecilia Goh, wine communicator Jenny Tan, and Alan Tan, senior food instructor of At-Sunrice Global Chef Academy.
The four finalists were tested on their techniques in the areas of wine identification, decanting, service and the speed of handling their task or challenge. Yeo Xi Yang, senior sommelier of the Les…