CHILE: THE TITLE OF BEST SOMMELIER IN THE WORLD GOES TO THE ENGLISHMAN, GERARD BASSET

First place goes to the Englishman Gerard Basset, second place to Paul Basso from Switzerland and third place to the Frenchman David Biraud. These are the results of the challenge to win the world title of best sommelier held in Santiago, Chile. The Association Internationale de la Sommellerie organized the contest and 51 competitors participated from 48 countries.

Gerard Basset (representing the UK, though born in France) succeeds Andreas Larsson from Sweden, who had won the previous edition (2007) in Rhodes, Greece. Basset, who participated in the contest for the first time in 1992 and was a finalist in the five previous editions, has received the “Moët & Chandon Silver Trophy”. In the book of winners figure the Italian sommeliers Enrico Bernardo (2004), Giuseppe Vaccarini (1978) and Piero Sattanino (1971). The next competition will take place in 2013 in Japan.

The organization of the competition for the best sommelier has given some vitality to the wine industry in Chile, which has been hard hit by the violence of the recent earthquake.
The vineyards in Chile, which are concentrated in the center of the country (where 70% of the companies are located), saw the 2009 production “cut” by 12.5%. In 2008 Chile was the ninth largest producer of wine, the second in South America (after Argentina) and the fifth largest exporter in the world, according to the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne