And the best sommelier in Argentina 2017 is…

After participating in five demanding competitions over the past decade, Martín Bruno has finally nailed it to become Argentina’s best sommelier. He will now represent his country in the Americas’ cup in 2018.

A triennial contest open to Argentine Association of Sommeliers (AAS) members, Martín – brand ambassador for Pernod-Ricard, executive somm at Tegui and a teacher at CAVE wine school – joins an elite league that includes Paz Levinson, currently the world’s fourth-best sommelier. A new AAS rule stipulated former winners cannot compete, thereby opening the the path for a new generation.

Nineteen candidates blind-tasted and undertook service tasks after having studied furiously to fill  their minds with denominations of origin and world wine regions to compete in the AAS-organised semi-final last Saturday. Just three made the final cut; of note is the fact that former finalist Valeria Gamper, competition newbie Stefanie Paiva from Venezuela, and Martín have all passed through the Fierro Hotel, officially now a cradle for nurturing top somms.

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