LOVE THAT WINE’S EXCLUSIVE MONTHLY COLUMN WITH LAURA RHYS, SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR AND HEAD SOMMELIER AT HOTEL TERRAVINA

Each month, Laura Rhys will be bringing us her thoughts on wine. We caught up with Laura to talk wine, washing and winning.

“I did an International Hospitality Management course at UWIC University in Cardiff so I always had an interest in the hospitality sector” says Laura. It was here she completed two WSET courses and started her love affair with wine.

After university, Laura was lucky enough to land a commis sommelier position at Hotel du Vin in Winchester where she worked under Claire Thevenot (Sommelier of the Year 2006). It is here that her education truly began. After 2 and a half years, Laura moved on to Hotel Terravina in Southampton to work as Head Sommelier under the legendary Gerard Basset.

So what does the Sommelier job actually entail? “Being a Head Sommelier” explains Laura, “is a really busy – yet rewarding – job. I’m basically in charge of anything and everything to do with wine at the hotel. From placing wine orders and overseeing deliveries to organising the cellar and tasting all the wines, so I have a real first hand knowledge of what we offer guests.

I even have to get involved in glass washing – everything about the wine experience has to be perfect.” And one of the biggest parts of Laura’s job is being restaurant-facing. So from talking to guests, handling wine orders, to recommending wines to the customers and serving them at their table. Laura is quick to admit that this is the biggest perk of the job for her, “there is nothing like having the ability to get it absolutely right when recommending a wine. I love impressing and surprising guests and introducing them to something completely new.” And first hand contact with so many different wines is of course a massive plus!

Laura is quick to caution that being a sommelier isn’t for everyone. As she explains knowledge of wine is of course the biggest necessity but you also have to be many more things besides: organised, on the ball, unobtrusive, polite and extremely efficient. Laura herself is all of these things. Google her name and you get pages of results – it seems she’s now famous in the wine industry. In fact, Laura was named Sommelier of the Year 2009, in the spirit of her mentors before her; an achievement she can’t quite believe. When I ask her how it felt to win she is still lost for words, despite the competition taking place in May. “Amazing” she says, over and over again, “just amazing”. Despite her newfound acclaim alongside being only the second woman ever to win the competition, Laura is refreshingly humble about her achievements.

Does she think her gender and age ever work against her? “Maybe at first. I’ve never really looked my age so people were a bit dubious of me when I started but I’ve worked hard to correct people’s perceptions. Age and gender have never really held me back though; people are more surprised at my being English than anything else.”

Laura’s nationality clearly doesn’t hold her back in the slightest. When I begin asking about wines she immediately comes across as very self-assured. “Try South America, Spain, Portugal or South of France for a lovely, affordable wine at the moment.”

Finally, the million dollar question – what is your favourite wine? “Oh I couldn’t possibly pick just one! There are so many beautiful wines out there at the moment.’ This is understandable, considering she has the run of a well-stocked cellar! “But” she continues, “I would never say no to a crisp, dry Riesling – perhaps with some seafood”. Sounds good to us, Laura.

For further information on Laura and Hotel Terravina, go to

www.hotelterravina.co.uk