17.10. late night at the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix competition held for the 9th time Kaspars Reitups from Latvia was awarded the title of Best Baltic Sommelier. After a two-day competition second place was awarded to Kristjan Markii from Estonia, and third place went to Karel Veski from Estonia.
The one-hundred-millionth bottle of Vana Tallinn Liqueur was produced by the Estonian company AS Liviko. Picking the milestone bottle from the production line, CEO Janek Kalvi announced that it will be placed for display in the company’s museum. For over half a century, the Vana Tallinn Liqueur has remained the …
Late on Saturday evening in Tartu, Estonia at the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2011, Kristjan Peäske of Estonia was declared the Best Baltic Sommelier and was awarded a wine trip worth €1000 courtesy of AS Liviko. Kristjan Markii of Estonia won second place and Liora Levi of Norway came third. This year, for the first time, competitors from Scandinavia also participated in the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix.
„The competition was very tough. I did not expect to win. The level of Nordic sommeliers is close to the top of the world and including them in the competition shows that we are able to compete at an international level outside of the Baltic states,“ said the winner of Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2011 Kristjan Peäske, one of the owners of the restaurant Leib, Resto ja Aed.
Late last Saturday evening in Tallinn at the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2010, Kristjan Markii of Estonia was declared the Best Baltic Sommelier. Estonian Kristjan Peäske won second place and Jānis Kaļķis of Latvia came third.
“I have been waiting for the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix victory for a long time! This year was the fifth time that I competed in the final of the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix. My competitors were tough but very pleasant. I would like to thank everyone that supported me,” said the Best Baltic Sommelier Kristjan Markii.
Late Saturday night at the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2009 competition in Riga, the Estonian competitor Kristjan Peäske was awarded the title of the best sommelier of the Baltic countries, followed by another Estonian competitor, Kristjan Markii, and the Latvian Jānis Kaļķis. The winner of the competition was the guest participant Sören Polonius from Sweden. “This is the second year that I participate in the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix. I am amazed and very happy with my result. The competition was tough, but the result inspires me to continue and learn more about wines, because the more you know the more you want to know about them,” said the best Baltic sommelier Kristjan Peäske.
Baltic Sommelier Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2008, i.e. the competition of the best sommelier of the Baltic States, ended in Vilnius at the late night of 25 October, was won for the second year in a row by the Latvian Raimonds Tomsons from Riga’s restaurant Vincents. The Estonian representative Kristjan Markii from Tallinn restaurant Balthasar won the second place with minimal point difference.
On Saturday, 20 October Baltic Sommelier Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2007, i.e. the competition of the best Baltic sommeliers was held in Riga which was won by the Latvian Raimonds Tomsons from Riga’s restaurant Vincents. The winner won the wine trip with the cost of 15,000 kroons as a prize and the exclusive decanter. “This is the happiest day of my life without doubt, if not considering my wedding day,” Tomsons said a couple of minutes after the end of competition.
In the evening of October 14th the best sommelier of the Baltic States in 2006 was selected in club Astoria Palace in Tallinn. Urvo Ugandi from the restaurant Balthasar won the high level Sommelier Vana Tallinn Grand Prix contest that was held for the first time. The second place in the contest of the best sommeliers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was taken by Gints Sniedzele, a representative of Latvia and the third was Estonian Kristjan Markii.
