Margaux Balemans, voted best sommelier in Belgium

In addition to managing the cellar, a good sommelier must have an excellent sense of smell and a refined palate to be able to best sense the taste and aromas of the different wines whose merits they will be called upon to highlight to the guests of a top restaurant.

Every year, the Belgian Guild of Sommeliers organises a competition to select the "Best Sommelier of Belgium", a title that has been officially protected since this year and is the only title recognised both in Belgium and internationally. This year, it was the turn of Margaux Balemans to take the top step on the podium.

The 24-year-old sommelier from Vosselaar is currently practising her art at the Michelin-starred restaurant "Le Grand Verre", run by chef Wout Bru in Durbuy. She beat Vincent Pharazijn of the De Jonkman restaurant in Bruges and Elizio Masson of Hof van Cleve in Kruisem.

Earlier this year, Margaux Balemans also won the Young Sommelier Award of Excellence. A sommelier graduate of Ter Groene Poorte hotel management school in Bruges, she had already won the Junior Sommelier of Belgium competition in 2020. As co-founder of "La Brigade du Vin", she also developed the wine game "Verwijn Jezelf" to educate wine lovers in a fun way.

A sommelier can win the award only once in their career, and this is the first time it has been awarded to a woman.