Auckland somm ranks 6th in world

Auckland-based sommelier Andrea Martinisi has been ranked sixth in the world at the ASI Best Sommelier of the World Competition held in Lisbon, Portugal.

Sommeliers from 66 countries competed for the top rankings over four days of assessments.

Nikolai Haram Svorte from Norway placed first, with France’s Pascaline Lepeltier second, and Wataru Iwata from Japan in third.

This year was Andrea Martinisi’s third world competition and improves on his eighth placing in 2023.

Andrea Martinisi competes at the ASI Best Sommelier of the World Competition - image courtesy ASI

Originally from Italy, Andrea Martinisi has lived in New Zealand for nearly a decade. He won the New Zealand Sommelier titles in 2021 and 2022 and currently works at Normanby Fine Wines in Auckland.

“This has been a great journey, taking months of preparation and study. Now ranked at 6th in the world, this is the highest New Zealand has ever been placed, and even if I’m not a Kiwi by birth, I am honoured to be holding the New Zealand flag on the world stage,” says Martinisi.

“NZ Sommeliers and Wine Professionals are a small organisation and do not have access to substantial sponsorship funds, to put into training that other top performing countries do.

“The competition was really tough. The theory papers were particularly challenging, with topics ranging from obscure wine regions to advanced winemaking and viticulture techniques. This year, the calibre of candidates was the strongest that I’ve seen, which makes me even more proud of this achievement.”