Finalists Announced for Inaugural
Sommelier’s Sommelier Award
in Association with Decanter
The ten finalists for the inaugural Sommelier’s Sommelier Award,
created in association with Decanter magazine, are announced.
The new award was established following demand from the Top 100 Alumni—comprising all professionals who have appeared on the prestigious Top 100 Sommeliers in the UK list since 2023. The Sommelier’s Sommelier Award will recognise one sommelier who has been listed in the Top 100 between 2023 and 2025, including all special award winners. The recipient will be a professional their peers have voted as outstanding and an ambassador for service within hospitality.
Voting is conducted exclusively by Top 100 Alumni, with each alumnus permitted to vote once. All votes must be cast for a full-time working sommelier at a restaurant in the UK.
There will be one winner only, who will be announced at the prestigious 67 Pall Mall club in London on Monday 26 January.
Finalists (in alphabetical order):
- Beatrice Bessi
- Maria Boumpa
- Emma Denney
- Roxane Dupuy
- Matteo Furlan
- Matteo Montone MS
- Antonio Palmarini
- Philipp Reinstaller
- Stuart Skea
- Agnieszka Świecka MS
Voted for exclusively by their award-winning peers, the Sommelier’s Sommelier Award is open only to those who have been listed in the Top 100 in previous or subsequent years and are still working as a sommelier.
Amy Wislocki, Managing Editor at Decanter magazine, said: “Our purpose at Decanter is to help wine lovers get the most from their glass, and so we’re delighted to be involved with the Sommeliers’ Sommelier of the Year Award. It’s an award that celebrates the incredible work done by the hardworking and skilled community who share this mission, and it’s an award that carries huge weight. There can be no greater satisfaction than to have your talent and brilliance recognised by your peer group.”
Stefan Neumann MS, newly appointed UK Ambassador for Sommelier Edit’s Top 100 Sommeliers, commented: “The Sommelier’s Sommelier Award—of all the votes cast this year, this is, without question, one of the most respected accolades in our industry.”
Register to attend the award presentation.
