Champagne Ruinart's blind tasting challenge for sommeliers will once again return this year, with the UK edition of the competition taking place on 30 June.

A total of 30 sommeliers will sip and swirl in this ninth edition of the UK version of the competition, which started in the US in 2010 and is now held in nine countries.
Last year, the competition was won by
Emma Denney, the head sommelier of famed Mayfair hotel Claridge’s, and the year before that
it was Mateusz Kowalczyk.
The challenge requires blind tasting a series of wines, coming up with tasting notes, serving recommendations, food pairing suggestions, and an indication of the possible place of origin.
"The Ruinart Sommelier Challenge is a unique moment of exchange with sommeliers, culminating in an immersive experience in Champagne for the winner," said Ruinart's chef de caves Frédéric Panaïotis.
The winner will join other winning sommeliers from across the world on a week-long trip to Champagne.
After the competition there will also be a lecture delivered by Panaïotis, and the title of this year's is
Fostering biodiversity through vitiforestry.
The registration link for the competition can be found here, and will be open until 16 May.