AND THE BOLLINGER EXCEPTIONAL WINE SERVICE AWARD 2011 GOES TO… JOAKIM HANSI BLACKADDER

Wayve Kolevsohn takes Runner-up Award

Appropriately the winner, Joakim Hansi Blackadder, of the The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award, was announced on Friday 11 November at Riebeek Kasteel, as part of the Swartland Revolution, a celebration of fine South African wines and cuisine.

After a testing day of written exams, blind tastings and a practical assessment where finalists had to skilfully decant an aged wine, and select and present wines to ‘guests’, pairing them with items on a menu the finalists were seeing for the first time, Joakim Hansi Blackadder finally prevailed, to win the inaugural The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award 2011. Wayve Kolevsohn was second, followed by Greg Mutambe, sommelier at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, where the finals were held.

Ginette de Fleuriot Cape Wine Master, The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award organiser and one of the judges, is very pleased with the overall results, “Although unforeseen circumstances meant that two finalists (Josephine Gutentoft and Francis Krone) had to withdraw, we were pleased that Greg, as fifth-placed semi-finalist, could then compete – and on his home-turf too! Most importantly, though, the high standards attained by Joakim and the other finalists have set the benchmark for aspirant sommeliers. We look forward to an increased number of entrants for The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award 2012 and wider representation from South Africa’s premier tourist regions. Also, we trust that this Award will act as a catalyst for the hospitality industry to expand training facilities and support local sommeliers”.

Joakim Hansi Blackadder’s prize for winning The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award is a trip to the House of Bollinger Champagne in France. The prize includes the airfare and accommodation in France.

Joakim, 27, whose father is Scottish and mother is Swedish, grew up in the small town of Västerås near Stockholm in Sweden. His training included three years at a restaurant college and two years at a sommelier academy in Stockholm. His wide restaurant training in Sweden includes a stint at Michelin-star Restaurant Mathias Dahlgren, which won the Bocuse d’Or (World Cooking Contest) whilst he was employed there. It was also rated the best new restaurant in the world by The Wallpaper magazine.

After a brief stint as sommelier at the Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl in 2008, Joakim then returned permanently to South Africa the following year and was appointed sommelier and senior manager at The Roundhouse Restaurant in Camps Bay. Earlier this year he was promoted to General Manager, retaining his sommelier duties.

Wayve Kolevsohn’s prize for the Runner-up Award is a weekend’s accommodation and hearty breakfasts for two, at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Camps Bay, a skip and a jump from where she was raised.

Wayve, 26, was born and bred in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Shortly before gaining her National Diploma in Hospitality Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) she travelled to the UK to continue her practical studies. She gained valuable experience working in top Michelin-star restaurants, including the famous Chez Bruce.

On her return to South Africa, Wayve completed her post-graduate degree in Management at CPUT. In June 2009 she joined Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek, where she is now restaurant manager and sommelier at The Tasting Room, the world-renowned fine dining restaurant. She is presently studying for her Cape Sommelier qualification through the Cape Wine Academy.

The inaugural The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award is co-sponsored by Riedel Glassware who have also provided infrastructural support together with Vinimark The Wine Company, importers of Bollinger. Flights were sponsored by Comair.

The Award has been established to bring focus – and recognition of achievement – to the growing group of professional wine waiters in South Africa.

The recently formed South African Sommelier Association (SASA) is fully behind The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award and some of its members were judges at the final. SASA Chairman Neil Grant says, ”It is an honour for the South African Sommeliers Association to be part of the judging panel for The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award. Wine service has a poor history in South Africa and only with incentives such as these will we find an improvement within the industry. Chefs in South Africa over the past 10 years have proven how good they are and now wine stewards/sommeliers need to be part of this movement so we can challenge the international markets. I would like to thank all the sponsors for the hard work and dedication in making this event a success and I look forward to being part of the Award again next year.”

The finalists were judged on wine and food service and were tested on the following:

•         wine styles and terminology

•          wine label information

•          wine regulations

•          regions of origin

•          major international wine regions and their wines

•          identifying wines in a blind tasting

•          service techniques

•          food and wine pairing

•          wine storage

•          social skills and ability to interact with the patron

For further details, visit the official website: www.wineserviceaward.co.za

Editorial: POSY & JEREMY HAZELL

Video: BottlePlatePillow production

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