Wine waiter is the toast of his trade

Published on Monday 10 January 2005 12:26

A WINE waiter at Harvey Nichols’ Edinburgh store has won a prestigious international award.

Colin Bell, recently appointed head of wines at the store’s Forth Floor restaurant, beat 17 finalists from top restaurants in Britain and around the world for the title of Sommelier of the Year 2004.

Mr Bell, who was formerly a sommelier at the Rhubarb restaurant in Prestonfield House Hotel, won the Wine International Challenge after seven rounds of competition.

In the final, the sommeliers had to find one wine to suit the diverse flavours of both a chocolate sponge pudding with pecan sauce and a traditional English Stilton cheese.

Mr Bell said today: "I know that I speak for all the competitors when I say that it has been very enlightening. It made me think about everything - flavours, textures, acidity.

"I would recommend everyone to enter not only for the educational aspect but also for the camaraderie.You don’t often get the chance to compete with top sommeliers from around the world."