Sommelier Showdown Puts Palates to the Test and Diners in the Judge’s Seat
Black + Blue Toronto invites diners into the cutthroat world of sommelier competition.
It may not look it from the outside, but sommeliers are as competitive as they come. Behind the patrician sheen of the suits, certifications, and grand crus is a wine-stained battleground where somms duke it out for bragging rights over whose palate is best. For the most part, these competitions, which range from grassroots to global, have been closed to the general public, being adjudicated by equally well-qualified wine professionals and attended by only the keenest of oenophiles.
All that changes this autumn, with Black + Blue Toronto inviting diners into the cutthroat world of sommelier competition at its Sommelier Showdown. Put on in collaboration with Fine Vintage Ltd., the innovative dinners series sees top Toronto sommeliers vie for diners’ palates (and votes) by doing their best to pair wines with dishes prepared by Black + Blue Toronto executive chef Morgan Bellis. While it may sound like work, play is also very much on the menu, with diners being transported from a welcome reception with wine and amuse-bouches to a dinner with four courses, each paired with one wine selected by the two competing sommeliers.
The first dinner takes place September 1 and pits Heather McDougall, owner of Sips Toronto, against sommelier wunderkind Clement Poirier. Dinner number two takes over Black + Blue on October 20, when Harbour Sixty wine director and 2024 Best Ontario Sommelier Christian P. Hamel takes on Julie Garton, an independent wine consultant who formerly managed the wine program for Liberty Entertainment Group’s many restaurants. On November 17, the victorious sommeliers from dinners one and two return for a winner-take-all duel.
Tickets to all three dinners are now available.
