Bothell’s Erik Liedholm wins National Somm Slam Competition
Published 4:26 pm Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Sommelier and Distiller Erik Liedholm, a Bothell resident, brought home the 2014 Somm Slam title after winning the 5th Annual StarChefs.com Somm Slam; a competition between the top ten beverage professionals selected from across the country. The competition took place on Oct. 26-27 during the first two days of the International Chef Congress in New York. Liedholm was selected to compete based on work experience, pairing philosophy and examples of specific wine pairings.
“I am so thrilled that Star Chefs invited this old guy to compete in the Somm Slam competition against nine other extremely talented, driven and young wine professionals,” Liedholm said. “I am overwhelmed and honored to have won and so pleased that I got to represent Seattle’s vibrant wine community. Not bad for an old guy.”
The top ten beverage professionals competed on day one and the top five advanced to the second day of competition. On day one, the first round of five sommeliers answered rapid-fire questions in front of the audience and judging panel. Then, the group raced to the wine cellar to make the best selection to pair with the presented dish before returning to the audience of peers and judges to present. Competitors were also asked to taste a mystery sauce and identify as many ingredients as possible. The five sommeliers who displayed the most poise and knowledge in defending their pairing and identifying the ingredients moved on to compete in day two. On day two, a blind tasting immediately cut one competitor and the remaining four sommeliers were grilled on esoteric wine trivia, with only the top three moving on and plunging into two more rounds of pairings.
Liedholm is also a certified distiller, opening Wildwood Spirits Co. with Chef John Howie in Bothell in January 2015. The spirits are already receiving rave reviews; Kur gin recently received the “Best in Show” and a double gold medal at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition. Kur has also been featured in Wine & Spirits Magazine twice in the last four months, most recently being named one of the year’s top ten spirits. Both Kur and Stark Vatten have received numerous awards for the competitions they’ve been entered in, including the American Distilling Institute’s Annual Judging of Craft American Spirits, American Association of Craft Distiller’s Awards, and the Seattle Gin Society’s Ginvitational. For more information, visit www.wildwoodspiritsco.com.
