Sommelier Grégory Mio (Le Place d’Armes) defended the colors of the Grand Duchy during the competition for the Best Sommelier in the World, last month in Paris. He returns to this experience which will call for others.
Three weeks ago, you took part in your first World’s Best Sommelier competition. You did not reach the stage of the semi-finals, your objective. Is it a disappointment?
Grégory Mio: The level was incredibly high, so I can’t say it’s a disappointment. I had prepared a lot for the Best Sommelier of Luxembourg competition (Editor’s note: in December), but, of course, that had nothing to do with it. When I saw the 100 questions of the questionnaire, I said to myself that it would be very complicated to go beyond. It was still a great challenge that makes me want to try my luck again next time… to go even higher!
What do you get out of your participation?
It was a superb experience, privileged days where I was able to make great encounters with professionals from many countries. Exchanging with these people who have different visions, who come from other continents was a great opportunity. It opens the mind. And the master classes offered by the organizers were exciting.
Which theme did you particularly like?
The sakes. We had the opportunity to taste many, of different types, and there were some wonderful things. We don’t know them much in Luxembourg yet, but in London or Paris, they are very fashionable. Here, by the glass, they will be difficult to sell, but I intend to think with the chef to create dishes that would go together perfectly and serve them blind.
Bringing new proposals is the essence of your job…
Of course, I find more pleasure in it than serving the French wines that are found everywhere! I think we can develop something around sakés for the Luxembourg clientele. Why not at the Villa Pétrusse (Editor’s note: the luxury hotel-restaurant which is being developed, near the Adolphe bridge, and which will be managed by the Place d’Armes group)?
These competitions give visibility
For customers to let themselves be guided, they must be confident. You arrived in Luxembourg just a year ago, do you feel that people’s views are changing?
I have seen him since the Best Sommelier of Luxembourg competition. Some customers tell me about it, it surprised me! These contests are also interesting for that: they give visibility.
Exactly, back to the contest. You were talking about the level of questions. How much did he surprise you?
They require extremely solid basic knowledge, they were very advanced. I suspected it would be hard, but not that they would go into such detail. In fact, none of them were easy. Nothing to put you at ease! I was still quite comfortable on those that focused on France and Bordeaux (Editor’s note: he is from Saint-Émilion).
In addition to the difficulty, there was the problem of time. We only had 90 minutes to answer the 100 questions. Less than a minute per question, while some required thought, is not much.
With hindsight, I realize that I wasted time on complex issues. The next one, I’ll go faster to already answer all those I know the answer to and I’ll rack my brains later on the others.
One of the keys is to know how to manage stress
You were also judged on a service test. What were you asked?
You had to manage a table with disgruntled customers in 3 minutes. They had been waiting for a long time, but the wine they had asked for was not at temperature, way too hot. I made the person who had chosen it taste the wine, I put it in the fridge and I offered a glass of champagne to everyone while I waited. It seemed logical to me, but I don’t know if that’s what the judges were expecting…
What about the blind tasting?
We had to find the country, region, grape variety and vintage of four red wines. Once we had given our answers, we were told that these wines had all received a similar vinification. We had to find which one. I started with carbonic maceration, but on reflection, I think it was more like whole bunch vinification.
There was also a 5e drink to analyze, emphasizing our demonstration on the type of evolution of the wine. There, I know that I answered well: it was about a sherry, an oxidative wine.
All of these events took place in a single day. The stress must be high enough?
Yes, one of the keys is knowing how to manage it. I’ve been working on it for quite a while. The finalists, for example, carried out their tests in the Paris La Défense Arena, with 4,000 people watching them. It must not have been easy for them!
We defined a new vision for my training
Have you looked at them with envy?
Yes! I have decided that I will take part in the Best European Sommelier competition which will take place in a year and a half in Serbia, in Belgrade. In 2026, I will also try my luck in the Best Sommelier in the World competition, which will take place in Lisbon. I will prepare even better, the experience of this first participation will be useful.
We have seen that the sommeliers who went the furthest all had a solid team around them, to help them prepare better. Coming from Luxembourg, where the profession is not overcrowded, is certainly not an advantage…
You are right, it takes a team to be successful. I have colleagues here who are ready to help me, and other sommeliers who have represented Luxembourg before me support me. The week following the competition, I went to see my family in Bordeaux, where one of my coaches also lives. We have defined a new vision for my training, sweeping all the fields where I need to deepen my skills.
With other sommeliers, some of whom I met in Paris, we made a WhatsApp group to help us move forward mutually. The motivation is not lacking!
He defends Luxembourg wines
In recent years, the sommeliers of the Grand Duchy (often French) have often tended to neglect Luxembourg wines, considered not chic enough. They preferred to highlight well-known references, often French, which were easier to sell.
Grégory Mio sees things completely differently. “I’m in Luxembourg, I want Luxembourg wines!” he says. Many winegrowers have had the pleasure of seeing him pass by their homes, sometimes unexpectedly, to come and listen to them and taste them.
Not necessarily accustomed to such visits, the sincere interest of the sommelier pleases the people of Moselle. The wine list of restaurants in the Place d’Armes galaxy (La Cristallerie, Le Plëss, Café de Paris) is affected by this: local references have never been so numerous (including by the glass).
Grégory Mio even advertises abroad. He has just devoted a section to his nuggets in the French online magazine Top-Vins (available on the Cafeyn platform or by subscription to [email protected]).
He describes the cabernet blanc and the saint-laurent of Domaine L&R Kox (Remich), the pinot noir Ma Tâche of Henri Ruppert (Schengen) and the regent of Caves Ries (Niederdonven). Voilà un sommelier engaged!