30th May 2023, London – Top 100 Sommeliers 2023 has been announced in front of the who’s who of the sommelier community.
The first annual ranking of the UK’s very best sommeliers sees Gareth Ferreira MS scooping the number 1 slot.
Curated by Sommelier Edit, from a constantly updated database of working sommeliers, the list has been honed to select Top 100 Sommeliers, based on a points system, which takes into consideration expert wine knowledge and qualifications; level of management responsibility; working experience and seniority; and, awards and competition success.
About
Speaking at the event, host and co-founder, Angeline Bayly reiterated: “The Top 100 Sommeliers is about working Sommeliers, those who spend a majority of their time working service, those who are on the floor, with the wine team. On-trade professionals who are no longer spending a majority of their time working service are not included in this list.”
She continued: “We all know highly accomplished sommeliers who have moved away from the floor, and continue to be great ambassadors for the profession and their colleagues. This includes those who are now in more operational or purely buying roles, sommeliers now working for wine importers or brand owners and sommeliers who are cellar masters.”
The judges
Top 100 Sommeliers was judged and audited by; Sarah Jane Evans MW, author, journalist and broadcaster, Giovanni Ferlito MCA, Head of Wine & Beverage, The Ritz, London, Svetoslav Manolev MS, wine consultant, educator and wine judge, Thierry Tomasin MCA, Restaurant Director, The Savoy Grill and Queena Wong, collector and founder, Curious Vines. Co founders Angeline Bayly and Charlotte Hey complete the judging panel as ex officio judges.
Commenting on the first judging session, Thierry Tomasin said; “The numbers don’t lie. Top 100 Sommeliers has a unique system which awards points based on each of the criteria. It is weighted to take into consideration every aspect of a sommelier’s job.”
Giovanni Ferlito, Head of Wine & Beverage at The Ritz, London, added, “This is completely different way of assessing the sommeliers’ craft – encompassing everything from mise en place to buying, qualifications to year’s in the job. It’s difficult to be swayed or influenced when the hard facts are in front of you.”
31% of the Top 100 Sommeliers and 50% of this year’s top 10 sommeliers are based outside of London. The inaugural ranking was made up of 33% women, and 20% of the Top 20 Sommeliers are female.
Special Awards
On the night two special awards were announced. Award to two sommeliers who the judges believed had shown exemplary leadership and contribution to sommeliery.
Inspiration Award
James Lloyd
Head Sommelier, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Legend Award
Eric Zwiebel MS
Head Sommelier, The Samling
2023 Top 100 Sommeliers
- Gareth Ferreira MS, Beverage Director, Core by Clare Smyth, London
- Matteo Furlan, Head of Wines, The Dorchester, London
- John Power, Head Sommelier, The James Thomson Collection, Scotland
- Stuart Skea, Group Head Sommelier, Aizle, Scotland
- Melody Wong, Wine Director, The Peninsula Hotel, London
- Sumith Alahakoon, Head Sommelier, 1906 Restaurant, Scotland
- Stefan Kobald, Head Sommelier, Core by Clare Smyth, London
- Joel Bastian, Group Head Sommelier, The Kitchin Group, Scotland
- Sonal Clare, Wine Director, The Wilderness, Birmingham
- Emanuel Pesqueira, Head of Wine, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, London
- Winnie Toh, Head Sommelier, The Aubury, London
- Alexios Stasinopoulos, Director of Wine, Seren Collection, Pembrokeshire
- Daniel Stojcic, Deputy Head Sommelier, Estelle Manor, Oxfordshire
- Noemie Favrat, Head Sommelier Le Comptoir Joel Robuchon, London
- Adriana Valentini, Head of Beverage, Oxford & Cambridge Club, London
- Eugenio Egorov, Head Sommelier, The Stafford Hotel, London
- Lukas Hyner, F&B Manager, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire
- Donald Edwards, Head Sommelier, La Trompette, London
- Andres Ituarte, Head Sommelier, Mandarin Oriental, London
- Jonathan Kleeman, Group Head Sommelier, Story, London
- Agnieszka Swiecka, Head of Wine, Mount Street Restaurant at The Audley, London
- Vincenzo Arnese, Wine Director, Raffles hotel at the OWO, London
- Roxane Dupuy, Head Sommelier, The Twenty Two, London
- Glen Montgomery, Head Sommelier, Eorna, Scotland
- Imre Somogyi, Head Sommelier, Les 110 de Taillevent, London
- Marco Iaccarino, Head of Wine, The Berkeley, London
- Giuseppe D’Aniello, Head Sommelier, The London Edition, London
- Philipp Reinstaller, Head Sommelier, Trivet, London
- Julien Sarrasin, Head Sommelier, HIDE, London
- Emma Denney, Head Sommelier, Claridge’s, London
- Antonio Palmarini, Head Sommelier, Beaverbrook Townhouse, London
- Michele Fazari, Head Sommelier, Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square, London
- Beatrice Bessi, Head Sommelier, Chiltern Firehouse, London
- Shane McHugh, Group Wine Buyer, Goodman Restaurants, London
- Ovidiu Olteanu, Head Sommelier, BAO + BBQ, Gloucesterhire
- Dmytro Goncharuk, Head Sommelier, Corrigan’s, London
- Miguel Gomez, Head Sommelier, The Clove Club, London
- Romain Audrerie, Wine Director, Ladbroke Hall, London
- Gaia Serafini, Head Sommelier, Oxeye, London
- Melania Battiston, Head Sommelier, Medlar, London
- Klearhos Kanelakis, Head Sommelier, Ekstedt at The Yard, London
- Georgios Iordanidis, Head of Wine, Annabel’s, London
- Josie Phillips, Head Sommelier, The Macallan Estate, Scotland
- Michal Dumny, Head Sommelier, The Forest Side Hotel, Cumbria
- Elise Merigaud, Head Sommelier, La Dame de Pic, London
- Francesca Turra, Head Sommelier, Rosewood, London
- Valentin Mouillard, Head Sommelier, L’Enclume, Cumbria
- Maria Boumpa, Head Sommelier, Da Terra, London
- Matthew Davison, Head Sommelier, Moor Hall, Lancashire
- Marcello Colletti, Head Sommelier, Nobu Hotel, London
Judges’ Special Categories
Top 5 Female Sommeliers
- Noemie Favrat
- Agnieszka Swiecka
- Winnie Toh
- Adriana Valentini
- Melody Wong
Top 5 Ones-to-Watch
- Melania Battiston
- Giuseppe D’aniello
- Emma Denney
- Elise Merigaud
- Daniel Stojcic
Top 5 Young Sommeliers
- Konstantinos Katridis
- Martin Kleveta
- Bence Major
- Elizabeth Mellish
- Magdalena Sleziak
Top 51 to 100
in alphabetical order
- Giovanni Andriulo, Senior Sommelier, The Ritz, London
- Bella Babbit, Head Sommelier, The Nomad Hotel, London
- Leonardo Barlondi, Head Sommelier, The Dorchester, London
- Fanny Bachelard, Head Sommelier, The River Restaurant, London
- Julien Beltzung, Executive Sommelier, The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Scotland
- Filipe Bhering Reis, Club Head Sommelier, Annabel’s, London
- Matthew Bottrill, Assistant Head Sommelier, Maison Estelle, London
- Maria Cintoli, Head Sommelier, Gravetye Manor, Sussex
- Milena De Waele, Head Sommelier, Park Row, London
- Erin Donnelly, Sommelier, Heron, Scotland
- Nikos Emner, Assistant Wine Director, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
- Alessia Ferrarello, Head Sommelier, Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottinghamshire
- Ali Finch, Group Head Sommelier, Murano, London
- Anna Frost, Head Sommelier, Ophelia, Newcastle
- Augusto Gherardi, Assistant Head Sommelier, Mister Nice, London
- Alberto Gherardi, Head Sommelier, Il Borro, London
- Chris Goodale, Assistant Head Sommelier, The Five Fields Restaurant, London
- Fred Goodwin-Hayward, Assistant Sommelier, Restaurant Hywel Jones, Wiltshire
- Yujin Jang, Head Sommelier, Bon Vino Enoteca, London
- Jaewon Jeong, Assistant Head Sommelier, Amazonico, London
- Anastasios Karakasis, Head of Wine, Bacchanalia, London
- Konstantinos Katridis, Sommelier, The Fat Duck, Berkshire
- Martin Kleveta, Assistant Head Sommelier, HIDE, London
- Emily Klomp, Head Sommelier, Where the Light Gets In, Manchester
- Maxime Lamour, Assistant Head Sommelier, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London
- Felix Law, Head Sommelier, Canton Blue, The Peninsula Hotel, London
- Jiachen Lu, Sommelier, Dinings SW3, London
- Bence Major, Assistant Head Sommelier, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire
- Elizabeth Mellish, Sommelier, Gleneagles Town House, Scotland
- Levente Movik, Head Sommelier, Petersham Nurseries, London
- Elton Muco, Deputy Head Sommelier, 67 Pall Mall, London
- Gioele Musco, Wine Director, Alex Dilling at Café Royal, London
- Alistair Myers, Owner, Rafters, Sheffield
- Ioanna Nerantzi, Assistant Head Sommelier, Maison Estelle, London
- Konstantinos Nestoridis, Head Sommelier, Midsummer House, Cambridge
- Daniele Palomba, Head Sommelier, Annabel’s, London
- Nicoletta Paniccoli, Sommelier, The London Edition, London
- Shashi Prakash, Sommelier, Fonab Castle Hotel, Scotland
- Merlin Ramos, Head Sommelier, Humo, London
- Davide Renna, Head Sommelier, Cycene, London
- Lucas Reynaud-Paligot, Assistant Head Sommelier, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught Hotel, London
- Mark Ron Patana, Assistant Head Sommelier, Medlar, London
- Davide Santeramo, Senior Sommelier, The Ritz, London
- Carolina Seibel, Assistant Head Sommelier, Petrus, London
- Natasha Senina, Assistant Head Sommelier, Chewton Glen, Hampshire
- Magdalena Sleziak, Head Sommelier, Northcote, Lancashire
- Julio Tauste, Head Sommelier, Orrery, London
- Giovanni Tolone, Sommelier, Simpsons, Birmingham
- Valeriya Toteva, Assistant Head Sommelier, The Pem, London
- Richie Twentyman, Head Sommelier, Heron, Scotland