The Russian Sommelier Association held its 5th annual Female Sommelier Competition. This event is traditionally held in one of Russia’s winemaking regions, and this time the Golubitskaya Estate in the Krasnodar region was selected as host.
The pool of participants was finalized in July, with 15 sommeliers chosen from 50 candidates via an online quiz. The initial round of the competition featured traditional tasks such as service, blind tasting, theoretical test and food & wine pairings. The top three scorers then competed in the final that same evening on the roof of the Golubitskaya hotel.
Longtime observers were well familiar with the three finalists, each of whom had previously reached the podium in the quest for the title of Best Russian Female Sommelier. Top honors went to Marina Tonkova of Saint Petersburg, with Kristina Veselova (also of Saint Petersburg) second and Evgeniya Nazimova of Moscow third. Each of the finalists is now eligible for the main Russian contest in 2021.