Welcome to
Association de la Sommellerie Internationale
The Association de la Sommellerie Internationale is the world’s preeminent global advocate for the needs of the modern sommelier.
Since 1969
About ASI //
“ASI was a little bit like the European Union in the beginning, today it is more like the United Nations.”-Markus Del Monego (ASI Best Sommelier of the World 1998)
Agenda
Members
ASI Mag
All the issues of ASI’s own digital magazine
Agenda EN
2026
- ASI Diploma Exam, 9th March 2026.
- ASI General Assembly, 18 – 22 May 2026, Taipei, Taiwan
- ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World, 11 – 17 October 2026. Lisbon, Portugal
- ASI Bootcamp Americas, 21-24 July 2026, Sao Paulo, Brazil
To come 2027 TBC
ASI Bootcamp Europe, Africa & Middle East, tbc
ASI Best Sommelier of Europe, 6 – 11 September 2027, Poland (Final on 10 September)
News & Events
Check out the latest ASI news, as well as updates in the world of sommellerie!
🍷 Happy Merlot Day! 🫐✨
Merlot is planted almost everywhere, yet it's one of the most misjudged reds. Its style depends on where it grew. Can you read the climate in your glass? 🔍
The Style Spectrum 🎭
🏛️ Classic Bordeaux (Right Bank): Medium-bodied, fresh, red fruit, leafy notes, savoury edge
🌍 International style: Riper, plusher, more oak, softer tannins
🔥 Ripe & opulent (Napa, Paso Robles): Velvety, layered with vanilla and spice
🌿 Earthy & savoury (Tuscany): Oak-forward with a subtle earthy character
Warm vs. Cool 🌡️
❄️ Cooler sites (Bordeaux, northern Italy, Friuli)
✓ Red fruit: raspberry, strawberry, tart cherry
✓ Tobacco, cedar, bell pepper, leather
✓ Higher acidity, firmer tannins, leaner body
☀️ Warmer sites (California, Australia, Argentina)
✓ Black fruit: blackberry, black cherry, plum
✓ Chocolate, mocha, fruitcake
✓ Lower acidity, softer tannins, rounder palate
Blind Tasting Clues 🕵️
✓ Red fruit + herbal or tobacco = cooler site
✓ Blackberry, chocolate, plush texture = warmer site
✓ Grippy, dry tannin with savoury depth = older Bordeaux style
✓ Merlot is dry. Perceived sweetness comes from ripe fruit, not sugar!
Serve & Pair 🍽️
Slightly below room temperature. Cool-climate: charred meats, sharp cheese. Warm-climate: mushrooms, salmon, softer cheeses.
Your Challenge 📣
Pour a Pomerol and a Napa Merlot blind. Red fruit and tobacco, or black fruit and chocolate? Your palate knows where it grew!
What's your Merlot clue? 👇
#ASISomms #ASIBestSomm #MerlotDay #InternationalMerlotDay #Merlot #BlindTasting #Bordeaux #Pomerol #NapaValley #Sommelier
📅 Save the dates: ASI Exams & Certifications 2027
Plan your sommelier journey for the year ahead with the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale.
🥇 ASI Diploma: 8 March 2027 🌿 ASI Prep. & ASI Cert.1: all year long, starting February 2027 🍷 ASI Cert.2: from September 2027
More information about the exams and certifications is available at www.asi.info/exams/
For exact dates and locations, please contact your national sommelier association!
#ASISomms #Sommelier #Sommellerie #SommelierCertification #WineEducation #ASIDiploma #ASICert #WineProfessionals
Wine region: Jura, France 🍷🇫🇷
Tucked along the Swiss border, Jura is where Savagnin takes centre stage. Advanced palates, this one rewards attention.
📍 THE VEIL & THE VARIETY
Savagnin is the backbone here, and the key distinction is style. Sous voile wines age under a film of yeast, the path to vin jaune. Ouillé wines are topped up and develop without the veil, more like a conventional oxidative white. Know which one is in your glass.
🥃 VIN JAUNE
Aged in barrel without topping up, under a yeast veil, and bottled in the 62 cl clavelin. The AOC minimum is 6 years and 3 months from harvest. Around a third evaporates over the ageing (la part des anges), concentrating nutty, saline, oxidative character that can outlive most of us.
🍇 POULSARD & TROUSSEAU
Poulsard is pale and delicate, sometimes vinified as a blanc de noirs or with carbonic maceration. Trousseau brings structure, depth and a Pinot-adjacent perfume that is entirely its own.
🪨 TERROIR
Triassic marls and clays, Liassic marls, and Jurassic limestone shape sub-zones from Arbois to Château-Chalon, where only vin jaune is made. Cool nights and a continental-Atlantic blend keep acidity sharp.
Also worth your glass: Crémant du Jura, vin de paille and Macvin.
Jura doesn’t shout. It waits.
Map: Interprofession des Vins du Jura (c)
#Jura #VinJaune #Savagnin #Poulsard #Trousseau #FrenchWine #SommLife #WineEducation #TerroirDriven #ASISomms #ASIWineRegion
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