Latvian Raimonds Tomsons beat Danish Nina Jensen and Chinese Reeze Choi to be crowned Best Sommelier of the World on February 12, 2023 in Paris. The French candidate Pascaline Lepeltier came fourth (in a competition that initially gathered 68 candidates from all over the world).
The Latvian Raimonds Tomsons, winner of this 2023 edition of the world’s best sommelier
This 2023 race is not entirely unknown to Raimonds Tomsons, as in 2019 he finished third in the same race. Also worth noting, in 2017 he won the Best Sommelier of Europe and Africa award. He has also won the title of Best Sommelier of Latvia 3 times. For the past 20 years, Raimonds has been working as a sommelier in Riga at Vincents restaurant, considered the best in Riga, in the city center. Raimonds is also a consultant and wine director for Barents Wine Collectors in Riga.
The Frenchwoman Pascaline Le Peletier, one of the most beautiful incarnations of the revival of the world sommellerie
At 42, the former hypokhâgne and khâgne student has all the weapons to succeed and wins the title of German Sommelier Marc Almert after the final competition in Zurich in 2019. Named Personality of the Year by the Revue du Vin de France in 2019, she has already proven herself in the past by winning a historic double at the Best Sommelier of France competition in 2018 – no woman has ever competed before her – as Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the sommelier section.
Today, she is one of the best embodiments of the revival of the global sommelier profession. Based in Manhattan since 2009, she was dubbed “the prophetess of natural wine” by the American media in 2013 for her role in introducing natural and biodynamic wines to the menus of New York’s top starred restaurants. Since June 2022, she has been at the helm of Chambers, a committed restaurant in the Tribeca neighborhood.
