ASI: A Sommelier's Insight

What does it take to become the ASI Best Sommelier of the World? In this episode of A Sommelier's Insight host Mark DeWolf speaks with Sweden's Andreas Larsson, ASI Best Sommelier of the World 2007, about his unconventional journey from chef and musician to the pinnacle of international sommellerie. Larsson reflects on the disciplined preparation, mental focus and trusted team that carried...

As part of a series of podcasts titled "The Road to Lisbon" featuring interviews with past ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World winners, we interview Raimonds Tomsons about what it takes to become a champion. Raimonds Tomsons is the reigning winner ASI Best Sommelier of the World. His victory came in front of thousands of people watching live and tens of thousands watching online at t...

In this episode of A Sommelier’s Insight we continue a series titled the Road to Lisbon with Paolo Basso, ASI Best Sommelier of the World 2013. After 18 years of competition, winning the title brought Paolo both joy and a sense of liberation. It also marked the beginning of a new chapter and a broader perspective on what the profession needs to become. In this episode, The Evolving Role of the Som...

Where does sake belong in the world of sommellerie? The answer is simple: at its very heart. In this episode of A Sommelier’s Insight, we speak with Hiromi Iuchi of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association about sake’s growing presence in restaurants around the world. Instead of focusing on the technical aspects of Sake, this conversation delves more into how sake can work in the restaurant en...

Over the past decade, the role of the sommelier has evolved dramatically. While competitions continue to celebrate the very best, one question has become increasingly important: How do we ensure the next generation has the opportunity to get there? That's the question at the heart of this podcast. Piotr Kamecki, Vice-President of Europe for the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI...

For centuries, Orvieto was one of Italy's most revered white wines, renowned for both its botrytis-affected sweet wines and its table wines. During the second half of the 20th century, the region's popularity skyrocketed as Orvieto became a staple on the wine lists of an ever growing number of Italian trattorias appearing around the world. Over time, Orvieto developed a reputation as an ap...

For decades, Vinho Verde was viewed through a remarkably simple lens. Fresh, light, affordable and often with a touch of spritz, it became one of Portugal's most recognisable wine exports and a favourite introduction to Portuguese wine for consumers around the world. Today, however, the region is telling a far more complex and compelling story. Stretching across Portugal's verdant northwes...

For centuries, Orvieto was one of Italy's most revered white wines, renowned for both its botrytis-affected sweet wines and its table wines. During the second half of the 20th century, the region's popularity skyrocketed as Orvieto became a staple on the wine lists of an ever growing number of Italian trattorias appearing around the world. Over time, Orvieto developed a reputation as an ap...

Few figures have shaped the conversation around natural wine as profoundly as Pascaline Lepeltier. A leading contender for this year's ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World Lisbon, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Best Sommelier of France (2018), acclaimed author, restaurant and winery co-owner, educator and one of the most influential voices in contemporary wine, Pascaline has spent decades expl...

India has long been viewed as an emerging market in the world of wine, but today it is becoming something far more compelling: a proving ground for a new generation of sommeliers shaping their own identity. In this episode of A Sommelier’s Insight, we sit down with Amrita Singh to explore the upward trajectory of sommellerie in India. From the challenges of building wine culture in a historically...

There are moments in a wine career that quietly reshape everything, not through spectacle, but through a gradual realisation of what wine can truly represent. For Master Sommelier Jane Lopes, that moment opened the door to a career defined not just by technical mastery, but by a deeper exploration of wine as a meeting point of intellect, sensory experience, and human connection. In this conversati...

Mark welcomes listeners to another episode of A Sommelier’s Insight, where wine is more than what’s in the glass. It’s memory, culture and connection. In this episode, Mark sits down with Howard Hsia, President of the Taiwan Sommelier Association, to explore one of the most fascinating and often overlooked wine cultures in the world: Taiwan. Long known as a crossroads of trade, cuisine and culture...

There is a tendency, even among professionals, to treat glassware as a constant, an invisible tool in service of something else. Yet, as Leopold Grupp, CEO of Stölzle Lausitz, makes clear in this episode of A Sommelier's Insight, the glass is anything but passive. It is, in his words, “a sensoric object… a tool for professionals… where you can amplify certain tastes and you can reduce others.”...

Wine education is in the midst of a quiet, but profound, transformation. Once centred around a small number of traditional institutions and geographic hubs, learning today is increasingly global, digital, and shaped as much by access and communication as by encyclopaedic knowledge. Excellence in the beverage professions is no longer defined solely by what we know, but by how we interpret, translat...

In this episode of A Sommelier's Insight, we sit down with Harry Symington Symington Family Estates and Maria Boumpa, reigning UK Sommelier of the Year, to explore the vision behind, and the outcomes of Symington Family Estates' immersive learning programme known as  Douro Somm Camp.    For generations, the Symington family has been at the heart of Portugal’s wine story, stewarding iconic...

Welcome back to A Sommelier’s Insight , a podcast produced for the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale in conjunction with ASI Magazine. In a profession built on curiosity, discipline and constant evolution, there are few qualities more essential than a genuine passion for knowledge. Not just the accumulation of facts, but the desire to understand, to question and to connect ideas across...

In the world of wine, few achievements carry the weight and mystique of Master Sommelier and Master of Wine. They are often seen as the twin peaks of the profession, each demanding a different kind of mastery: one rooted in service, precision and performance under pressure; the other in deep academic rigour, analysis and global perspective. Very few have stood atop both. Doug Frost is one of just...

In this episode of A Sommelier’s Insight, where we explore the ideas, regions, and personalities shaping today’s global wine conversation, ASI Magazine Editor and A Sommelier's Insight host Mark DeWolf sits down with an influential voice in modern wine education: Dirceu Vianna Junior MW. Dirceu is the first Brazilian Master of Wine, a respected educator, author, international judge, and consultant...

In the world of wine, education is often the unseen thread that weaves a sommelier’s career together. For Léonard Lievin, that thread runs deep and wide, spanning continents, languages, and multiple certification bodies. From the vineyards of Alsace to the fine dining rooms of Montréal and London, Lievin’s journey is one marked not only by constant self-improvement but by a quietly relentless pass...

At just 24, Ontario-based Cokie Ponikvar, a former floor sommelier at the Four Seasons in Toronto, is currently pursuing both the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier designation. Along the way she has built a vast global audience with Cokie’s World of Wine which has close to a half million followers, earned the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communications award, and become a standard bearer for joy...

In this episode of A Sommelier’s Insight, we welcome Marc Pinto, one of Portugal’s most accomplished sommeliers, to share the story of his remarkable journey. After years of honing his craft across international stages, from Michelin-starred dining rooms to prestigious competitions, Marc has returned home to Portugal. His decision to come back is not just about geography—it’s about reconnecting wi...

A Taste of Place has long been at the heart of wine’s most compelling stories. In this issue of ASI Magazine we turn our attention to Portugal, a country whose rich mosaic of indigenous varietals and diverse terroirs continues to captivate sommeliers and wine lovers worldwide. From the granite soils of Vinho Verde to the sun-drenched plains of Alentejo and the windswept islands of the Azores and M...

In Issue 19 of ASI Magazine, our feature Breaking the Barrier edition we explored the challenges and triumphs of sommeliers working to overcome gender inequality, race and other circumstances to find their voice on the global stage. Among those stories, one person stood out both her candour and her conviction: Catherine Fallis MS, the “Grape Goddess,” who shared her inspiring journey in Rising Abo...

In this episode A Sommelier’s Insight , the official podcast of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale, produced in collaboration with ASI Magazine, host Mark DeWolf is joined by Sören Polonius, a leader of sommelier training in his home country of Sweden and around the world. They  dive into an exciting evolution in the ASI Guidelines: the official inclusion of sake and beer. Traditiona...

In this edition of A Sommelier's Insight, ASI Magazine Edit Mark DeWolf chats about what it takes to become a champion with Joris Garcia. Joris recently won the title of ASI Best Sommelier of the Americas 2025 at a contest in Sonoma, California. The contest was a spirited duel with Garcia, the reigning Best Sommelier of Canada, narrowly edging out his US competitor. Listen to this episode to learn...