The Sommelier Union Germany met in September for its annual general meeting, in person at the Dorint Hotel in Cologne and online via Zoom. A new board of directors was elected, including Peer F. Holm as president. His new team of vice-presidents consists of the reigning sommelier world champion Marc Almert, Christian Frens from Cologne and Philipp Künemund from Munich. Michael Wangler from Aschaffenburg will retain his position as treasurer. Annette Schwarz was newly appointed to the advisory board.
Holm laid out an ambitious plan for the board’s three-year term. These included: a plan to better communicate the profession of sommelier within Germany, aided in no small part by the media boost from Almert’s victory in the World’s Best Sommelier competition; expanded partnerships, both with existing partners like the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) and a range of new ones in the hotel and catering industry; and finally: greater international representation of Germany in the sommelier world, through greater engagement by Holm, Almert and others in ASI.
“We are very pleased that our colleagues have placed their trust in us,” Holm says. “We will step on the gas and carefully implement our 3-point plan!”