Fat Duck sommelier wins top international prize

publication date: May 21, 2008

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author/source: Fiona Beckett

Not only have two English teams made it to the Champions’ League final this year but two British-based sommeliers have won first and third prize in the Best Sommelier of Europe competition organised in Sofia, Bulgaria this week by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI)

Isa Bal of the three Michelin-starred Fat Duck in Bray beat off competition from the top sommeliers from 26 European countries. Paolo Basso of Switzerland took second place and Eric Zweibel from the Summer Lodge Country House Hotel in Evershot, Dorset, came third

The three finalists were asked to complete a series of tests including a number of food and wine matching challenges. They also had to identify 10 unknown spirits, five of which were in dark-coloured glasses

Bal, who was born in Turkey worked at The Vineyard at Stockcross and Maggiore’s in Covent Garden before joining The Fat Duck. Last month he came second to Gearoid Devaney from Tom Aikens in the Academy of Food & Wine’s UK Sommelier of the Year competition.

Congratulations to them both!