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Finnish sommelier prevails at Ruinart Challenge
Finnish sommelier Kirsi Seppänen has won the Nordic Ruinart Challenge 2018 competition in Copenhagen, where the best wine experts from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland competed for the title of the best sommelier in the Nordics.
The Nordic Ruinart Challenge was organised for the fourth time by the world’s first champagne house Ruinart, which was founded in Reims, France in 1729. The competition consisted of a blind tasting of four different wines, which the judges scored based on the contestants’ descriptions and food pairing suggestions.
Kirsi Seppänen went into the competition with the Finnish sommelier champion and the young sommelier of the year titles under her belt. She works as the restaurant manager at the Tampere-based Deli 1909 & Wine Bar. Seppänen placed on the top podium ahead of two Swedes – Tina Johansson and Ellen Franzén.
The judging panel comprised Ruinart’s chef de caves Frédéric Panaïotis, The Swedish Sommelier Association’s chairman Béatrice Becher, Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s Malene SmidtHertz, the Danish Sommelier Association’s founder Tim Vollersley and last year’s winner, Danish chef and sommelier Jimmi Hansen.