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Winner of the Moët UK Sommelier of the Year competition Tanguy Martin, Hotel TerraVina, Hampshire


Tanguy Martin actually set out to be a winemaker, not a sommelier. The Lyon-born Frenchman was studying winemaking in Burgundy when he decided to get a job in an English-speaking country to improve his language skills. After thinking he would first


approach wine producers in New Zealand and Australia, he then read about Gerard Basset winning World’s Best Sommelier and immediately wrote to him at his hotel in the New Forest. Basset replied to his request for a job, offering him a position five years ago.


With no hospitality skills and


little command of the English language, Martin was set to work in the kitchens at Hotel TerraVina as a kitchen porter. Once he had mastered the lingo he progressed on to the restaurant floor, using his extensive knowledge of wine to impart his passion for it to the diners. “When Gerard suggested a position on the wine team, working under then head sommelier Laura Rhys – I jumped at the chance,” remembers


Martin, who quickly worked his way up to head sommelier in 2013. He now looks after a team of three sommeliers. Although he is not from a winemaking family, Tanguy grew up in Beaujolais, surrounded by vines. “What do I like best about being a sommelier? The challenge – you’re always dealing with different situations. And I love sharing my passion with guests, colleagues and suppliers. The


“The best bit about the day-to- day job for me is that I’m buying incredible wine without opening my wallet” Tanguy Martin


great thing about the wine trade here is that there is a true passion behind it,” he says. “The best bit about the day-to-


day job for me is that I’m buying incredible wine without opening my wallet. And then the challenge is to make a profit out of it,” grins Martin, who is given carte blanche on the wine list at Hotel TerraVina. “I have 100% flexibility – I


can buy what I want. Yes, Gerard looked over my shoulder to start with, but now he’s happy to let me fly solo, which is a great opportunity and a privilege.” The judges picked up on


Martin’s professionalism in the restaurant scenario test – so how does he approach service at Hotel TerraVina? “It’s very important to engage with guests. At TerraVina we like to think we are professional, but relaxed. I didn’t want to play a role in the final – if I did that I would have been in danger of losing myself. I tried to be as natural as possible, and just do what I do on a daily basis,” he says. Martin’s perfect customer is


someone who knows quite a lot about wine, but has an open mind


and wants to learn. “And someone who is happy to open a second bottle,” he adds with a grin. So any hot tips? “I visited the


Ontario wine region in Canada not long ago and it blew me away, in particular the Gamay and Cabernet Franc from Francois Morissette. Though the regions I keep going back to are the ones close to my heart: Beaujolais and the northern Rhône. “For Beaujolais, producers such as Daniel Bouland excite me, while Stéphane Montez in Côte-Rôtie is making some incredible wines. Further afield, I’m exploring Chilean wines, and I love the stuff coming out of Swartland in South Africa – particularly wines from Eben Sadie.” So what’s in store for this winemaker-turned sommelier? “I plan to be a sommelier for many more years, but one day I’d like to start actually importing wines myself,” he reveals. And yes, he will try out for


the World’s Best Sommelier competition when it comes around – with a former winner for a boss, why wouldn’t he?


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