IACC welcomes new competition director Sergio Valladares!
Formerly known as the Houston Sommelier Competition, this year’s sommelier faceoff has shifted gears and changed names:
The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Texas is thrilled to announce that the “Houston Italian Wine Ambassador Competition” will be held on the occasion of the 10th annual Taste of Italy Houston trade fair and festival (Sunday-Monday, February 25-26, 2024).
This year’s exams will take place on the second day of the gathering (Monday) and all sessions will be administered on the same day (so as to allow more wine professionals to compete).
Sergio Valladares, the incoming director, has made the theme “100 percent Italian” this year. Both the theory and blind tasting exams will focus on Italian viticulture and wines. The service exam has been eliminated (this was also done in the spirit of making the competition more accessible; in previous years, the examination process covered two days, not one).
The candidate with the highest combined scores will become the IACC’s official “Houston Italian Wine Ambassador” for the period of 12 months. Beside the title, the candidate will be invited to travel to Italy on a government-sponsored wine education trip. They will also receive a scholarship to be used for their wine studies. Scholarships for lesser amounts will be awarded to the candidates with the top and runner-up scores in each exam category.
The winners will be announced at the trade fair’s Monday afternoon seminar.
The competition is open to any and all wine professionals from anywhere in the city, state, country, or world. Houston-based sommeliers are encouraged to compete.
Sergio Valladares is longtime veteran of the Houston wine scene, a top sommelier and wine educator, one of the most beloved wine professionals working in the Houston community today. He has worked in every aspect of the industry and has “worked the floor” at some of Houston’s leading fine wine destinations. But his number-one passion remains wine education. Beyond his work as a sommelier and consultant, he is also a leading member of one of the city’s most active study groups. Sergio is excited to build on the work of his colleague Jaime De Leon, co-founder and director of the Houston Sommelier Competition.
Now a national manager for Kroger, Jaime works today out of the supermarket chain’s Chicago area office. The IACC cannot thank him enough for his precious contribution to the Taste of Italy trade fair over the years. We are pleased to keep the competition and its legacy alive.
Click here to reserve a spot to compete. To learn more about the competition, please send an email to Sergio by clicking here.
Taste of Italy is the largest trade fair in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine. Now in its 10th year, the event has now also been held multiple years in Dallas (at Eataly) and for the first time in El Paso earlier this year.
