Sommit is a full day masterclass, an all-encompassing celebration of the lesser known aspects of New Zealand wine, with particular emphasis on the facets that resonate with the sommelier community
Sommit is the flagship event that takes place as part of a wider New Zealand Wine Sommelier Scholarship - A programme that provides engaged wine professionals from all over the world with the opportunity to take part in an unforgettable New Zealand wine experience, discovering the regions, varieties, landscapes and personalities that make New Zealand wine so distinctly New Zealand.
Hosted since 2016, and led by Cameron Douglas MS and Stephen Wong MW, to date there have been eight Sommit events, for 123 sommiteers, from 18 countries. Each and every Sommit presents a number of diverse and highly-focussed flights, targeted to current topics of interest in the international on-premise. This event is designed as a closed-door, sommelier-exclusive discussion and debate, based on flights of wine that adhere to a focussed narrative, and encourage conversation about New Zealand wine as a whole.
These targeted flights captivate the audience, broaden their New Zealand wine horizons and encourage them to act not only on the topics they have been presented, but the wider portfolio of New Zealand wines that they experience on their New Zealand programme in its entirety. The overall strategy is to increase the offering of New Zealand wines on international wine lists, as the on-premise (and particularly the establishments that are well-regarded in New Zealand's international markets) drive trends, reputations and the overall health of a wine-producing country or category.
An additional benefit are the honest thoughts and comments from the sommelier contingent, regarding the topics they are presented and more broadly, New Zealand wine as a whole. These can be found in the Post Event Reports for previous Sommits below.
