The title of the Best Baltic Sommelier was given to Mikk Parre from Estonia

09.10.2022

The title of the Best Baltic Sommelier was given to Mikk Parre from Estonia – the winner of the Baltic sommelier Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2022 championship held in Vilnius. The second place was won by Dmitrijs Sinkevičs from Latvia and the third place by Aleksej Pogrebnoi from Estonia. The title of Young Sommelier was awarded to Peteris Vaskis from Latvia.

„It is great to see a new generation of Baltic Sommeliers growing up. All the candidates were eager to show their high-end knowledge of wines and service skills, compete and share their experience with each other, which is the goal of the Baltic Sommelier Vana Tallinn Grand Prix championship.  The competition is at the highest international level, therefore to compete in it is a great experience and practice for self-assessment. The new champion, Mikk Parre, stood out from all the competitors for his theoretical knowledge and know-how“ said the president of the Lithuanian sommelier association and multiple Lithuanian sommelier champion Arminas Darasevičius.

The international jury consists of members from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Ukraine and was chaired by Raimonds Tomsons, “Best sommelier of Europe & Africa” in 2017, and ranked 3rd at the ASI “Best Sommelier of the World competition” that took place in Belgium in 2019.

This year’s final event of the annual Best Sommelier in the Baltics competition was held in Vilnius, as last year’s winner title went to Lithuanian Narimantas Miežys. The first place welcoming the best Baltic sommeliers and jury members was the Neringa Hotel, where this exceptional group of guests had been staying for three days. The main hall of Pirklių klubas at Vilnius main street was chosen by the organizers as the venue for the finals, and the Gala dinner honoring the participants and the winner was hosted by the Grand Hotel Kempinski Vilnius restaurant Telegrafas and its head chef Vilius Ručinskas.

The competition is named after Estonia’s most popular liqueur, the legendary Vana Tallinn. Liviko Group has been organizing the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix in cooperation with Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian sommelier associations since 2006.