Europe’s sommelier community entered 2025 with a sense of momentum, cohesion and renewed ambition. This was displayed not only by championship victories, but by the strengthening of professional pathways, cross-border collaboration and a growing cultural influence for sommeliers across the continent. From the UK to the Nordics, Spain to Central Europe, national associations increasingly aligned their training structures with ASI standards, creating a more unified framework for certification and career development. Regional and subregional contests flourished, offering new stages for emerging talents while reinforcing the collective preparation needed for ASI continental and world contets. At the same time, European sommeliers continued to make headlines in the broader hospitality landscape, shaping conversations around responsible drinking, guest experience and the evolving identity of the profession. The result was a standout year, one that showcased individual excellence while signalling Europe’s continuing strength in sommellerie.
1. A Major Year for ASI Examinations Across Europe
2025 saw a record uptake of the ASI Sommelier Diploma, Certification 1, and Certification 2 exams across Europe. National associations in the UK, Ireland, Nordics, France, Portugal and Central Europe incorporated ASI pathways more deeply into their official training calendars, making 2025 a defining year for credential harmonisation across the continent.
The UK Sommelier Academy confirmed ASI Certification 2 for its national examination structure, with sessions in London and Manchester. This move strengthened the ASI-aligned professional ladder in one of Europe’s most important hospitality markets.
2. Spain’s Regional Competitions Expand with Increased ASI Involvement
2025 was marked significant by growth for Spain’s sommelier ecosystem with new regional championships in Catalonia, Andalusia, and Basque Country expanding candidate pipelines. The Spanish Sommelier Union also continue to strengthen its alignment with ASI. Following hosting ASI Bootcamp in Seville in 2024, the Spanish Sommelier Union has adopted ASI standards, adding new structured exams and mentoring pathways for Spanish sommeliers to join in the ASI examination pathway.
Spain also delivered one of Europe’s headline sommelier moments when Mohamed Benabdallah, head sommelier and restaurant manager at Asador Etxebarri was acknowledged as ‘best’ by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The award recognised both technical precision and a deeply guest-centred philosophy, cementing Spain’s place among Europe’s most dynamic sommelier cultures following recent momentum in Barcelona, San Sebastián, and Madrid.
3. Europe’s Subregional Contest Winners
Europe is seeing the growth of regional, sub-continental contests as member ASI sommelier associations seek to work collectively to prepare their best for continental and world contests. New to 2025 was the first Iberian Sommelier Contest 2025, which was hosted in Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal. The inaugural winner was Spanish sommelier Marta Cortizas. Europe’s northern countries continued in their long tradition of mutual support highlighted by the Nordic Sommelier Championship and the Vana Tallinn Baltic Sommelier Grand Prix. Norway’s Nikolai Haram Svorte took first place at the Nordic Sommelier Championship while Lithuanian Ignatij Semionov won the Vana Tallinn Baltic Sommelier Grand Prix 2025 held in Vilnius.
4. A Year of Champions
Across Europe, 2025 proved to be a standout year for national sommelier championships, with a new generation of talents rising to prominence alongside seasoned professionals. In Belgium, Elizio Masson claimed the title of Best Sommelier of Belgium, while in the Czech Republic, Martin Parýzek secured his third crown at the BOHEMIA SEKT Trophée, underscoring his enduring mastery. Denmark celebrated Oliver Carr as its national champion, and Finland awarded its top honour to Dmitry “Dima” Frolov of Restaurant Finnjävel. In Germany, Niklas Breithaupt emerged as the country’s Best Sommelier, and in Italy, Ilaria Lorini of Tuscany captured the prestigious AIS national title. Spain’s 30º Campeonato de España de Sumilleres Tierra de Sabor crowned Marta Cortizas of El Celler de Can Roca, while Sweden recognised Albert Wendesten as its leading talent. Switzerland honoured Mikaël Grou of the iconic Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville de Crissier, and the United Kingdom celebrated Maria Boumpa as its 2025 Sommelier of the Year, rounding out a remarkable year of European excellence.
5. Wine in Moderation × ASI Partnership Renewed in Brussels
The EU-based organisation Wine in Moderation renewed its partnership with ASI, reinforcing Europe’s leadership in responsible drinking advocacy. Sommeliers across Europe including Spain, Italy, France and the Nordics, took part in educational activations, integrating moderation messaging into service training. The continued partnership highlights ASI, and its member countries, continued commitment to promote the healthy consumption of alcohol.
Sommeliers in the News
Louis Le Conte (France)
Louis Le Conte emerged in 2025 as one of the brightest young talents in European sommellerie, earning the coveted title of Meilleur Jeune Sommelier de France after an exacting final at Bordeaux’s Cité du Vin, this past June. His rise is the result of a steady, quietly determined trajectory that reflects both classical French training and a willingness to test himself in some of the most demanding dining rooms in Europe. A graduate of the Lycée Hôtelier de Chamalières, Le Conte first discovered wine while working in a bistro in Clermont-Ferrand before refining his technical foundations through an apprenticeship with Maison Pic in Valence, splitting time between the bistro and the three-Michelin-starred flagship under head sommelier Edmond Gasser. That experience, combined with seasonal work in Megève and time spent alongside winemaker Henri Chauvet, gave him both service discipline and a producer’s sensitivity. Since April 2024, he has served as sommelier at Pic au Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, where daily exposure to the precision of Anne-Sophie Pic’s culinary world has sharpened his palate and instincts. His 2025 competition win, earned against more than 80 candidates and through rigorous tests from blind tasting to Jéroboam service, signals more than early promise: it positions him as a likely contender for future national and European titles.
Maria Boumpa (United Kingdom)
Maria Boumpa achieved a new level of recognition after being crowned UK Sommelier of the Year 2025 a triumph that immediately marked her as one of the United Kingdom’s most compelling wine professionals. Since 2021 she has served as Restaurant Manager and Wine Director at the two-Michelin-starred Da Terra, where her deep respect for terroir, fine-tuned service and storytelling-driven wine lists have helped define the restaurant’s sophisticated wine programme. Originally from Metsovo, Greece, she first stumbled into hospitality while studying economics, as a part-time job that revealed an early passion for wine and service. That spark led her to a formative stage at the celebrated Nordic restaurant Kokkeriet, where a 20-course tasting menu, each course paired with wines, broadened her horizons and deepened her curiosity for global wine culture.
In her second ever competition (she was also on the podium in 2024) Boumpa displayed poise, refined technique, and nerves of steel. Through a gruelling series of blind tastings, pairing tests, service challenges she stood out for her precision, calm under pressure and impeccable timing. With her trajectory from a curious economics student in Greece to a top-tier sommelier in London and world class international sommelier, Boumpa embodies a new model of sommelier whose education is rooted in classical training but driven by global ambition, versatility, and a storyteller’s love of wine.
Marta Cortizas (Spain)
In 2025 Marta Cortizas became one of Europe’s standout sommeliers thanks in part to her victories at two sommelier contests. Her breakthrough came when she was crowned Best Sommelier of Spain 2025 at the Campeonato de España de Sumilleres Tierra de Sabor, held during Salón Gourmets in Madrid. The competition tested rapid blind tasting, wine and spirits identification, decanting and service, and real-time wine list correction, all disciplines in which Cortizas excelled with calm precision and a refined sensibility. Originally from Galicia and now representing the Asociación Catalana de Sumilleres, she works at the famed El Celler de Can Roca, where her artistic background, shaped by earlier interests in fashion and performance, informs an expressive, culturally attuned approach to wine.
Her training reflects both depth and intent: certification from the Instituto Galego do Viño, WSET Level 3, and hospitality studies at CETT in Barcelona. She often describes wine as “geography, history and soils,” a perspective echoed in her thoughtful service style. That combination of technical discipline and creative perspective helped her secure her second major title of the year: Best Sommelier of Iberia 2025. Winning the inaugural Campeonato Ibérico de Sumilleres in Portugal, Cortizas outperformed leading professionals from Spain and Portugal in blind tasting, service challenges and scenario-based tasks designed to mirror the pressure of dining-room reality.
Her achievements mark a significant shift within Spanish and Iberian sommellerie, not least because she becomes of the few women to have earned Spain’s top title. With her rapid rise, polished professionalism, and grounded sense of place, she is widely viewed as a future contender on the international stage.
