The event will take place on Monday and Tuesday on the island of Lošinj.
The Bellevue Hotel in Lošinj will host the 22nd Croatian Sommelier Championship on Monday and Tuesday. The organiser of the championship is the Croatian Sommelier Club, while the sponsors are the Croatian National Tourist Board and the Kvarner Tourist Board. This year's 22nd edition will bring together the greatest number of sommeliers from all over Croatia, especially those from large hotel companies, reports Agrobiz.hr on October 21, 2018.
The Lošinj Hotels & Villas hotel brand will be represented by four sommeliers – Marko Marak from Aurora Hotel, Norbert Češljić from Borik Mediterranean Bar, Filip Veselovac on behalf of Hotel Bellevue, and Marija Nerea Fidalgo from Alhambra Boutique Hotel.
The championships begin with a quarterfinal competition consisting of a written and a practical part. The written exam includes questions about the history of viticulture, winemaking, legislation, definitions, protection, regionalisation and division of wines, as well as questions about the sommelier profession, such as what their duties are, what basic equipment they use and how the wines are served. The practical part consists of a blind tasting, during which the sommeliers need to evaluate and describe the wines, locate the areas from which they come, identify the producers and the vintages.
After that, the semi-finalists will have to pass a written test in English about international wines and the most famous wine regions of Europe and the world, and find mistakes on a wine map. Three best sommeliers will qualify for the finals, where they will demonstrate their expertise by describing two Croatian and one foreign wine in front of the audience.
In addition, they will compete in red wine serving and decanting, correcting a wine map, matching wines with dishes, global wine knowledge, and communicating with guests. The final part of the competition is open to the public and starts on at 5 pm on 23 October at the Bellevue Hotel. The winner of the championships will represent Croatia at the ASI Contest of the Best Sommelier of the World, which will take place from 10 to 15 March 2019 in Antwerp in Belgium.
This year's edition of the championships is special because it will bring together the largest number of sommeliers so far and will take place in a hotel which puts a strong emphasis on the wine offer.
Translated from Agrobiz.hr.
