...and the Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award 2012 goes to...

Published: November, 2012

Wayve Kolevsohn

The winner of the The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award, was announced on Friday 9 November at Riebeek Kasteel as part of the Swartland Revolution, a celebration of fine South African wines and cuisine. Wayve Kolevsohn received the Riedel Glass Trophy and a trip to France with a visit to the House of Bollinger Champagne.

After a testing morning of written exams and a blind tasting at the Finals in October, the four finalists were faced with a rigorous practical assessment. Tasks included the correct mise en place and positioning of Riedel glassware for a six-course meal, the selection of dishes to match a range of wines, and the service and description of one of these wines. The final task - to describe two red wines - might at first have appeared easy enough, but the two wines were the same which was the first catch and one of them had been slightly tainted with TCA.

Runner up this year was Kayetan Meissner, a Sommelier at the Saxon Boutique Hotel in Sandhurst, Johannesburg. Wayve, previously employed at The Roundhouse, begins as Sommelier at The Test Kitchen, in Cape Town, this month.

The finals showdown took place at the elegant Ellerman House Luxury Hotel in Bantry Bay on Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard. Kayetan Meissner’s prize for the Runner-up Award is a one night stay for two, including bed and breakfast, at Ellerman House, which overlooks the cool Atlantic Ocean.

The Award has been established to bring focus – and recognition of achievement – to the growing group of professional wine waiters in South Africa.

The Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award is co-sponsored by Riedel Glassware who have also provided infrastructural support together with Vinimark The Wine Company, importers of Bollinger.