Latvian Raimonds Thomsons, a citizen of the former Soviet Baltic republic, which does not produce wine, won the international competition for the world’s best sommelier on Sunday, AFP reported, citing Agerpres.

Another representative from the north of Europe, Denmark’s Nina Jensen, became the vice-champion for the second time in a row at this triennial competition. China’s Reese Choi finished third.

“I can’t believe it,” said Raymond Thomsons, adding that he felt “extremely happy” on stage for the final, played in front of a packed crowd at the Arena La Défense, outside the gates of Paris. .

To the presenter, who jokingly asked him if his country had vineyards, the name of which he confused with the neighboring Baltic country of Lithuania, Raymonds Thomsons replied: “Let’s enjoy Latvian beer.”

France did not have its representative in the final of the best sommelier of the world

Less artistic and relaxed, but more accurate, he defeated Nina Jensen, who impressed the audience with her confidence, judging by online comments about the live competition.

During Friday’s semi-final, Raymond Thomsons told AFP that not growing up in a wine culture was an “advantage”. “We have no history and our minds are freer,” he explained.

“In Latin America or in ‘classic’ countries like Spain and Portugal, it’s harder for them to open up to wines from around the world because they’re very proud of their wines,” he added.

French candidate Pascaline Lepeltier took fourth place and did not make it to the finals.

“In France, we are spoiled children. The new countries that are discovering wine have such a thirst to learn, to share, they have this incredible enthusiasm and they are moving forward very quickly,” she told AFP after the semi-finals.

The tests in the finals were designed exclusively around wine: “blind” identification, combining stone with wine, wine with dishes, finding errors in the price list or guessing the bottle from a series of images.

But to get there, the candidates had to go through several “hipster” workshops in the semi-finals: identify five soft drinks from around the world and develop a vegan menu to accompany them.

The work of a sommelier is no longer limited to knowledge of wines

The correct answers became known only after the final, and everyone, including the jury members, agreed that this was an almost impossible mission.

“I’m very happy that I didn’t have to do it,” said Sweden’s Andreas Larsson, recognized as the best sommelier in the world in 2007 and a member of the jury of this edition.

But for Philippe Faure-Brac, president of the Union of French Sommeliers and winner of the 1992 World Sommelier competition, skills in all drinks in the world are now very important.

Compared to the first competition organized in 1969, consumers have “a lot more information than before” and the profiles of sommeliers “who can travel and train in different places” are diversifying, he told AFP ahead of the competition.

As for “nolo”, non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drinks that are very popular in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries, “we cannot fight the evolution of things and abandon people who want to enjoy themselves in a different way.” , he concluded.