Twenty-four-year-old Alberto Rabachin, originally from Vigevano, won the competition among Fisar delegates who compete each year for Best Sommelier at the National Congress.
During the 52nd National Congress of Fisar-the Italian Hotel and Restaurant Federation-held in early October, Alberto Rabachin won the title of “Best Fisar Sommelier of the Year,” outperforming other challengers in a series of practical and theoretical tests.
During the finals, held in Savona aboard the Costa Diadema cruise ship, the two best representatives from each Fisar national coordination, which gather several delegations within them, competed. The tests included managing the room by coordinating waiters and wine service, telling a wine in the round and two blind tastings, fundamental pillars of education for every sommelier. The jury thus decreed Rabachin’s victory thanks to “impeccable service, a thorough and complete knowledge of the required topics, and an emotional telling of the wine that went far beyond the classic tasting sheet.”
Born in 2000, Alberto’s path in the world of wine began under the pandemic, when he was 20 years old, following in the footsteps of his mother, delegate of the Pavia section of the federation. The young man, a native of Vigevano, is instead part of the Fisar Milano Duomo Delegation, the city where he lives.
Fisar President Roberto Donadini’s comment.
Awarding the new champion was Fisar President Roberto Donadini: “This award gives us the opportunity to remember that we sommeliers are ambassadors of wine, and to be so, it is necessary to overcome certain outdated languages that still persist in the environment. The reverence with which the wine world is perceived often risks hindering the approach of novices. Fisar, on the other hand, proposes the opposite: simplicity is the secret of success, but without trivializing the millenary culture of which we are the spokesmen.
Alberto Rabachin, despite his young age, is already an example to follow: he has won, in addition to his knowledge, precisely because of his ability to emotionally narrate a wine and reach people in a direct and exciting way.”
