In the new KORAL, the future restaurant of Koral Elci, the German wine scene met to honor 30 exceptional sommeliers from Germany, presented by Lallier Champagne.
In difficult times for the gastronomy industry, it is so important to always bring the players in the scene together, promote exchange and develop ideas. Initiatives such as the SOMM not only underline the absolute relevance and outstanding quality of the many people who have dedicated their heart and soul to gastronomy and customer service, they can also help to make these professions more attractive to the next generation.
Roy Sassoon Yerushalmi, founder of the international format SOMM, and gastronomy expert Koral Elci are also celebrating sommeliers and their work with this event – and want to create a local community and networking platform with SOMM instead of judging them. Inclusive instead of exclusive. A beautiful thought!
This project is an annual graduation picture of young and outstanding sommeliers, who are also accompanied by veteran mentors.
Roy Sassoon Yerushalmi,
After chefs became rock stars thanks to reality TV – sommeliers also wanted exposure and publicity. In my view, there was a thirst on the part of the sommeliers, which was reflected in the great response to the project every year.
The event was attended by sommeliers from some of Germany’s most famous restaurants, including Julia Kolbeck from JAN by Jan Hartwig (3 Michelin stars), Dennis Ruhl from Vendôme (3 Michelin stars) and Tim Schmidt from Restaurant Tim Raue (2 Michelin stars), Michi Stiel from Horváth – and many other excellent sommeliers. Participation offered the invited guests the unique opportunity to interact and network with experts from the gastronomy and wine world.
Cellar master Dominique Demarville from Lallier Champagne personally hosted the champagne tasting and presented an interesting cross-section of his company’s products. Before the event, I had the opportunity for an intensive exchange with the champagne expert, who has only been at the helm of Lallier for two years. The central requirement for all products is maximum quality. This is currently available in three different lines: Réflexions, Experts and the Grand Cru creations. In Germany, the wines can only be found in particularly good restaurants. Sustainable and organic cultivation is also very much on the agenda at Lallier. Already 15% of the company’s own production is grown biodynamically – it cannot be ruled out that a further line could be created here in the future.
Among others, Stefanie Hehn from the Lakeside, Michael Stiel from the Horváth and Sophie Lehmann, 100/200
During the course of the evening, two-star chef Christoph Kunz served an exciting dinner in constant rotation with Koral Elci, which was coordinated with the champagnes of the Lallier house.
The 30 best SOMM sommeliers in Germany
| Name | Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Florian Bechtel | Gustav/Weinsinn |
| Alena Büker | Komu |
| Ester Eggert | Victor’s Fine Dining by Christian Bau |
| Niklas Ertl | Johannes King |
| Marco Franzelin | Waldhotel Sonnora |
| Stéphane Gass | Schwarzwaldstube |
| Christoph Gonzalez | Haebel |
| Julian Grunwald | Tantris |
| Stefanie Hehn | Lakeside |
| Anna-Helene Herpers | Aqua |
| Julia Kolbeck | JAN by Jan Hartwig |
| Tobias Klass | Tohru/Schreiberei |
| Vadim Kremnev | Bianc |
| Sophie Lehmann | 100/200 |
| Ben Levavi | Prism |
| Greta Maiwald | Nobelhart&Schmutzig |
| Christophe Meyer | Hotel Dollenberg |
| Julien Morlat | Alois |
| Jerom Nicke | Ophelia |
| Linh Nguyen | Jellyfish |
| Martina Prenn | Tisane |
| Tim Schmidt | Tim Raue |
| Johanna Renz | Speisemeisterei |
| Stephan Resch | Zweisinn |
| Dennis Ruhl | Vendôme |
| Marcel Runge | Dalwigk |
| Christian Scholz | Haerlin |
| Joshua Stagraczynski | Koer |
| Michael Stiel | Horváth |
| Shahzad Talukder | Atelier |
All photos by Kazim Günyar
