Maximilian Wilm from the Kinfelts Kitchen & Wine in Hamburg won the final of the fifth Sommelier Trophy in Neustadt an der Weinstraße. The Sommelier-Union Deutschland awards the “Best Sommelier of Germany” in a two year cycle, positioning Wilm as the successor to world champion Marc Almert, who won the Sommelier Trophy two years ago.
In this year’s final Wilm competed against the second placed Julian Schweighart from Hotel Fontenay in Hamburg and the third placed Marco Gulino from Landau in a three-hour marathon event. 31-year-old Wilm delivered an excellent performance in front of an audience of almost 300 guests to win the neck-and-neck race.
Peer F. Holm, President of the Sommelier Union Germany, declared: “We are very proud of our finalists. The three of them made it exciting until the end. Congratulations to Maximilian Wilm. He is a great sommelier and deserves to win today. He will also represent Germany at the Contest Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa 2020 in Cyprus!
The ten-person jury led by Frank Kämmer (Master Sommelier) featured exceptional star power this year, with Germany’s two Best Sommelier of the World champions, Marc Almert and Markus del Monego, part of the panel.