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NATIONAL
COMPETITION RESULTS
May
21-25, 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada
1st Place: Arthur Black, Midwest
Region
2nd Place: Adam Curling,
Mid-Atlantic Region
3rd Place: Yannick Benjamin,
Northeast Region
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1st Place: Arthur
Black |
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There’s
no aspect of the business that the 2008 Best
Young Sommelier hasn’t been involved in:
Arthur Black’s worked on every
floor—vineyard, restaurant, and
retail—experiences that have been enriched
and informed by the privileged position that
he has accorded his wine studies.
Appropriately enough, Black is both National
Wine & Spirits’ Trade Education Manager and
Product Specialist for Indiana’s premier
wine and spirits distributor—National Wine &
Spirits. His educational credentials include
membership in the Society of Wine Educators;
certification as both a Specialist of Wine
and Spanish Wine Educator; and the title of
Advanced Sommelier from the Court of Master
Sommeliers. He also serves as an associate
professor at Indiana University. Perhaps the
best testament to his education, however, is
a rather informal credit that was issued
hours after his victory: In a blog entitled
Feed Me/Drink Me, a virtual
publication dedicated to the Indianapolis
food and wine scene, an anonymous author
opined: “So Arthur took first place. While I
am quite happy for him, I am not that
surprised. He works harder in his
oenological studies and is more passionate
about wine than anyone I know.” In the ’07
competition, Arthur placed third; he’s back
in '08 with the best tasting moves, and
perhaps a little Black tasting Magic...
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2nd Place: Adam
Curling |
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In the
initial stages of his wine career, Adam
Curling noted that one’s pursuit of wine
might be shaped and directed by personal
palate preferences. Appropriately enough,
Curling’s evolution has taken him to diverse
locales, headed up by a stint in Charleston,
South Carolina’s premier restaurant scene.
His European tour found him in the classroom
for a time, guiding his palate in the ways
of wine in Germany’s Deutchewein und
Sommelier Schule. The dining room and
classroom became equally important upon his
return, when he assumed the Cellar Master
position at Virginia’s renowned The Inn
at Little Washington and began to pursue
the various levels comprising Master
Sommelier certification (two of which he has
already passed; he plans to take the third
in 2009). Curling presently lives in Las
Vegas with his wife, Chastity, and their
son, Preston. |
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3rd Place: Yannick
Benjamin |
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Yannick
Benjamin had been a regular of New York’s
haute couture restaurant scene for over
a decade, fashioning an impressive list of
high-profile names that includes Oceana,
Jean-Georges, Felidia, and the Ritz
Carlton Central Park. While presently in
retail, he didn’t step too far out of this
elite milieu, given that the store in
question—Le Dû—is owned by Jean Luc
Le Dû, the former Chief Sommelier of
Daniel. Benjamin is currently pursuing
Master Sommelier certification. |
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