Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/935769
THE RECENT TREASURY WINE ESTATES Luxicon tour provided a master class in tasting techniques to sommeliers around the country while demonstrat- ing how the deductive reasoning approach used by the Court of Master Som- meliers applies in a blind setting. A total of $25,000 in scholarships was awarded by the Sommelier Foundation to the 21 highest-scoring sommeliers in seven cities on the Treasury tour, which included a grand tasting of TWE's luxury portfolio. This year's tour included stops in Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami, New York, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Will Smith, TWE's Director of Wine Education, noted the Luxicon tour was designed "to help working sommeliers with their ongoing certificate education while sharing information and the opportunity to become familiar with Treasury's luxury portfolio, including iconic wines from Beringer, Beaulieu Vineyard, Chateau St. Jean, Etude, Penfolds, Stags' Leap, and Sterling." Luxicon began with a Tasting Techniques seminar co-hosted by Master Som - melier and TWE Trade Education Manager Gillian Ballance and top sommeliers from each city. A blind tasting of four wines was staged at each seminar, with sommeliers asked to provide as many wine attributes as possible in a timed ses- sion using the grid method. The top three winners in each city were awarded a $1,200 scholarship to help defray the cost of studying for professional wine cer- tification. Winners are also spotlighted in a feature article in The SOMM Journal, which co-sponsored the events in each city. The scholarship winners are listed by city below: Atlanta: Joe Herrig, Fine Wine Key Account Manager, Georgia Crown Distrib- uting; Juan Cortes, Sommelier ; Natalia Pavlik, Mac's Beer & Wine Midtown Liquor Boston: Nick Daddona, Beverage Director, Boston Harbor Hotel; Jodi Bronch- tein, Sommelier, L'Espalier ; Lauren Daddona, Wine Director, L'Espalier Houston: Monica Townsend, Sommelier, Camerata at Paulie's; Menno Ozinga, La Griglia; Steven McDonald, Sommelier, Pappas Bros Las Vegas: Peter Plaehn, Wine Specialist Negoce; Kirk Peterson, Beverage Director, Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group; Norman Acosta, Sommelier, Rivea Miami: Adrian Lopez, Sommelier, Los Fuegos; Eric Blais, Wine Director, USS Nemo; Tim Bubar, Faena Hotel New York: Tristan Prat-Vincent, Wine Director, Park Hyatt; Allison Siena, Food & Beverage Director, Hilton Garden Inn Roslyn; Sean Dowling, Head Sommelier, Rare 650 San Francisco: Lindsey DeSmidt, Sommelier, Park Tavern; Jienna Basaldu, Echo & Rig Steakhouse at DOCO, Sacramento; Kim Oshiro, Argon Wine Systems. Joining Ballance as presenters and co-hosts were Brahm Callahan, MS; Chris - topher Boyette, AS; Kyungmoon Kim, MS; Sur Lucero, MS; Ira Harmon, MS; Eric Hemer, MS, MW; and Jack Mason, MS. Media Contact: jim.caudill@tweglobal.com 707-299-0796 Gillian Ballance, MS, is the Trade Education Manager for Treasury Wine Estates. The Somm Foundation and Treasury Wine Estates Award $25,000 in Scholarships on Seven-City Luxicon Tour