Master of wine Gerard Basset was in Shanghai recently to discover a fresh new crop of young sommeliers who also attended his master classes. Rebecca Lo cheers from the sidelines.

The pressure was intense. Five finalists, each from a different country, were vying for the coveted title of best sommelier within Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Contestants flew in from Toronto, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo to participate in Shanghai alongside Chinese sommeliers with a home court advantage. Each had his or her strengths and weaknesses, with their cultural backgrounds permeating the way they served guests as well as the breadth of wine and spirit of their knowledge. This was Shangri-La's first wine summit, held in the recently opened Jing An Shangri-La from Aug 29 to Sept 2. The highlights of the event were the young sommelier competition, an awards ceremony celebrating the winners, a series of master classes led by Gerard Basset and an exclusive wine dinner held in Jing An Shangri-La's Horizon Club lounge featuring wine pairings selected by the group's top sommeliers.

Robert Blackborough, Jing An Shangri-La's director of food and beverage, explains during the wine dinner for 24 guests that the summit began with an idea more than four years ago.

"Our group director of F&B, Lawrence McFadden, attended a Quincy Jones concert," he explains. "Instead of focusing on his own music, Quincy was promoting emerging talents. Given the rise of wine culture in Asia, Lawrence thought that it was a great idea to begin nurturing our up-and-coming sommeliers, for guests to enjoy an enhanced experience."

Organized by Benny Chung out of Shangri-La's Hong Kong corporate office and led by Yang Lu, wine director for the group, the event's coup was securing the services of sommelier Gerard Basset. The highly decorated Frenchman's titles include Master Sommelier, Master of Wine, Wine MBA, 2010 Best Sommelier in the World and 2013 Decanter Man of the Year.

Basset was instrumental in raising the bar for the young sommelier competition, which attracted contestants from Shangri-La's 82 properties from around the globe. Thirty-five sommeliers participated in an online examination, with 13 of its highest-scoring semi-finalists flown into Shanghai to compete in person. The top five finalists then battled it out in front of a live audience and paparazzi during the climactic finale.

Basset led a panel of 13 international judges for the final competition that included representatives from Kerry Wines and independent wine magazines, including Nicholas Siu from Cru Magazine, and Chinese wine experts such as Tommy Lam.

"This is like the Stanley Cup," says Lu, referring to North American ice hockey's annual prize as he handed the trophy to winner Mark Moffatt from Shangri-La Toronto. "You will have to bring it back next year so that we can pass it along to the new winner."

In addition, Basset hosted a series of master classes that showed how to differentiate similar grape varieties from different countries, the role of the sommelier today and a practical clinic showing how to provide the best service to guests.

"Today, there is a lot of information online about wine," Basset says during the seminar to a classroom full of glass-swirling sommeliers. "Our way of communicating has changed. Some customers know a lot - wine is a hobby for them. But there are others who don't know anything; they just want a wine that they can enjoy with their meal. As a sommelier, your job is to please all types of guests.

"A good sommelier adapts his wine list to different customers and different cultures. I always let my sommeliers do the buying.

"But you should never include a wine that you are ashamed to recommend. In the end, for me, a sommelier is a salesman first - a noble profession nevertheless. Good sommeliers don't show off their knowledge. They make people happy, and sometimes that means being diplomatic."

The sommeliers' training was put to the test at the master sommelier dinner with Court of Master Sommeliers members Basset, Englishman Brian Julyan and American Evan Goldstein at the table alongside Shanghai's A-list guests.

Tickets for the dinner were priced at 8,888 yuan ($1,450) per head. Champagne, three whites and four reds were each carefully paired with fine dining dishes to draw out the best flavors and experiences.

Each of the eight wines was introduced by a different sommelier, who proceeded to explain why the vintage was chosen specifically for the dish.

Pairing included Donnhoff's Riesling Kabinett Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl 2011 with poached foie gras and brioche; Domaine Leflaive, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2009 with steamed black cod; Vieux Chateau Certan 2009 with roast salt bush lamb loin; and Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Premier Grand Cru Classe 2009 with pan-seared Mayura Wagyu beef.

Despite the outstanding wine and dishes on the table, the dedication of the sommeliers in the wings was what stood out.

It was their time to bask in the limelight after the many hours of tough competition and training. If this summit was any indication, then wine culture in China has reached a realm that puts it on par with the best around the globe.

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

The top three honors are awarded to Mark Moffatt (top), Eduardo Contreras (above left) and Liao Weiyi (above right).

(China Daily 09/08/2013 page13)