As the Estonian Sommelier Association prepares to celebrate its 20th birthday this autumn, a different highlight for the nation’s sommeliers demanded attention first. The 19th edition of the Trophée Graham, given to the Best Sommelier of Estonia, was held on September 9 at Fotografiska Tallinn. The event drew seven top Estonian sommeliers and three guest competitors from Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland, all vying for the crown.
Karoline Reinhold, who works at 180 Degrees restaurant, won the title of “Best Sommelier of Estonia 2020”. Second place went to Verner Lepp and third place to Marko Mägi. As this year’s competition was supported by Graham’s Port winery, there was more attention paid to the exciting issues concerning port wine and the Douro region. Each of the top three finishers will also be awarded a wine trip to Portugal.
The international jury was comprised of MV Group Distribution Estonia wine expert and sommelier Marko Hark, President of the Finnish Sommelier Association Heidi Mäkinen MW, President of the Lithuanian Sommeliers Arminas Darasevičius, and President of the Latvian Sommeliers Ronalds Pētersons. Also on the jury were, Ketri Leis, a four-time Estonian champion who works as a sommelier in “Tsunft” restaurant, Igor Sööt from Vins de France, President of the Estonian Sommelier Association and multiple Estonian champion Kristjan Markii, Margit Kikas of the Estonian Bartenders Association, and member of the board of the Estonian Sommelier Association Aivar Vipper.