Best USA Sommelier Association (BUSA), a not-for-profit created by top industry professionals to support and promote the role of the sommelier in the United States, announced the winner of the USA National Finals, held on June 14 in Hermann, Mo.
After nine hours of exams – during which the six finalists competed in French, Spanish and English, meeting the requirements of competing in a non-native language – the six judges chose a new U.S. national champion sommelier – Mark Guillaudeu, the beverage director at Commis in Oakland, Calif.
Two runners-up were also chosen – First Runner-up Dustin Chabert of Chicago, Ill., the previous U.S. national champion, and Second Runner-up David Bérubé of Restaurant Daniel in New York, N.Y.
Doug Frost, MS/MW, president of Best USA Sommelier Association, said, “The finals represented another milestone for the U.S. as it was a hard-fought battle with both young sommeliers and a few grizzled veterans. It means that the U.S. has more and more talented professionals who can compete on the world stage. We're going to keep preparing as many as possible for their chance at an international platform for sommelier excellence.”
The daylong competition also included challenging blind tastings of classic wines, as well as fortified wines from around the world and aged spirits; a tough theory examination that required intimate knowledge of wine grapes and regions, spirits, cocktails and cigars; and a high-paced service exam.
A Distinguished Career
Guillaudeau got his start at Glen’s Garden Market in Washington D.C, where he assisted in the local, sustainable/organic beverage program after completing a master’s program in Buddhist studies.
With a desire to continue learning, Guillaudeau went on to finish his WSET Level 3 (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) and then took on the role of sommelier at Curious Grape in Shirlington, Va., followed by roles with Richard Sandoval and Robert Wiedemaier's restaurant groups.
Guillaudeu then packed up and headed to California where he earned his Advanced Sommelier certification and went on to be named one of Wine & Spirits Magazine's Best New Sommeliers of 2019. He also ran the beverage program at Roka Akor in the Financial District and the two Michelin-starred Commis in the Piedmont Neighborhood of Oakland (since 2017), whose bar was named “Best Bar in the East Bay” by SF Magazine and one of Esquire’s “Best Bars in America” in 2019.
Currently, Guillaudeu’s priority remains mentoring students and preparing for the rigorous Master of Wine and Master Sommelier exams in 2022. He’ll also represent the United States in the world sommelier competition to be held in Paris in 2023.
Insights from a Leading Sommelier
What are Guillaudeu’s thoughts on the biggest obstacle to becoming a sommelier today? “The world of wine is broader than ever before at exactly the moment the iconic wines are further out of reach than ever before,” he explained. “At the same time there is a broad populist movement away from credentialling and the deep, broad knowledge it entails. For example, I have friends who work now in the natural wine sphere exclusively: Their unfamiliarity with what I consider the iconic wines of the world is as great as mine with what they consider the great wines of the world. The consensus over a common core of knowledge is fracturing in front of our eyes – which makes getting started trickier than ever.”
What advice would Guillaudeu give to others that may want to compete in the sommelier competition in the future? “Take the plunge,” he said.
Guillaudeu also said he advises hopefuls to embrace the freedom to study anything and everything. “Shuck off that angel on your shoulder that tells you you’re digging too deep and go for true, genuine mastery of your field! Oh, and this: You’re not a wine professional, you’re not a beverage professional, you’re a fermentation professional – study everything from tea to tobacco, coffee to kombucha, sake to cider to Scotch – and be sure you don’t forget your cheeses, too! The sommelier was the purveyor of the king’s provisions - not just his cellar. Remember that.”
What’s Guillaudeu most excited to recommend right now, in terms of wine? “Two great underappreciated passions of mine are Rioja and Grüner Veltliner – both, ideally, aged,” he said. “As a style, I find so few people have been exposed to them – especially the textures and flavors grüner picks up as it develops. To that end, probably the 1935 Bodegas Palacios Reserva Especial and the 2001 Emmerich Knoll Ried Kreutles grüner.”
To learn more about the Best USA Sommelier Association (BUSA) and their annual competition, visit BestUSASommelier.com. To learn about all of this year’s sommelier competitors, click here.
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