Le Chef Magazine attends Ruinart event

On Monday, 26 October, Le Chef Magazine attended the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge at Cheval Blanc Paris, an event focused on the theme "Exploring rosé champagne: maturation and production." The event brought together 24 candidates from a pool of 97 registered sommeliers for a blind tasting and a masterclass led by Caroline Fiot, cellar master of Maison Ruinart.

Winners of the challenge

Dimitri Nalin from Fouquet’s Paris was declared the winner of this edition, followed by Amandine Sahuquet from 67 Pall Mall de Bordeaux and Nathanaël Piètre from La Maison Despouès in Puylausic (32). The jury included Caroline Fiot, Estelle Touzet, Alexis Goujard, and Brice Beuzeville-Loiseau, who had previously won the 2025 edition.

Event's origins and purpose

The Ruinart Sommelier Challenge, created in 2010 by Frédéric Panaïotis, combines competition with knowledge-sharing to help professionals deepen their understanding of wine and its production. The event featured a blind tasting of four rosé wines, with participants required to write two comments in French and two in English.

Wines tasted at the event

The selection of wines was exclusively French and included a range of rosé expressions: Champagne Roger Coulon, cuvée Rosélie, brut without year; Champagne Veuve Fourny, rosé brut without year; Clos Canarelli, AOP Figari rosé 2025 from Corsica; and Roc d’Anglade, IGP Gard rosé 2025. Each wine used different grape varieties, reflecting regional diversity.

Masterclass on rosé champagne

Caroline Fiot led a masterclass discussing the history of rosé champagne and the evolution of its production methods. She highlighted the rise of sparkling wines in the 18th century and the impact of the 1728 authorization to transport champagne in bottles, which helped establish the region's reputation.

Event concludes with tasting session

After the masterclass, participants had the opportunity to taste some of Maison Ruinart’s emblematic cuvées. The event concluded with an announcement that the next edition of the Ruinart Sommelier Challenge will focus on the theme of cork.