Calling all Ontario sommeliers! CAPS Ontario to host Best Ontario Sommelier Competition 2024 at Liberty Grand
The call for industry entries from across the province is now open
TORONTO, August 6, 2024 – The Ontario chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS) – Canada’s only national sommelier association — is once again hosting the province’s largest and most diverse wine and food event of its kind, the Best Ontario Sommelier Competition (BOSC), scheduled for Tuesday November 12th 2024 at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex in Toronto. The competition and fundraising event is a perennial favourite among oenophiles, the sommelier community, the food, wine and hospitality industries and guests who love the thrill of the industry’s biggest competition.
The BOSC competition challenges the province’s sommeliers in a series of professional skill-testing scenarios, including both blind tasting and service components. The call for industry entries from across the province to compete — as well as sponsorship and in-kind donations for all events –- is now open at https://on.sommelierscanada.ca/. Tickets for the gala, tasting and dinner are $150 for members, $175 for non-members; tables of ten are $1,200; tickets go on sale in September.
A call for competitors and wines
This year, the CAPS Ontario Board will host four live, regional CAPS CUP 2024 tasting events on August 13th at 12:00 PM in Ottawa, Niagara, Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto. Competitors across the province donate $40 to compete; all funds raised will support scholarships of hospitality students, to enhance their careers in wine and are a great opportunity to hone one’s professional skills. In addition, CAPS will host four BOSC preliminary competitions — for knowledge, skills and blind tastings — in advance of BOSC, scheduled for September. More information will follow.
Competitors must be CAPS Ontario members in good standing, currently working in the hospitality industry. The top five competitors’ scores from the preliminary events in September will go on to compete at the provincial finals in Toronto on November 12th. From there, the winner of BOSC will move on to represent Ontario at the national level, at the Best Canadian Sommelier Competition (BCSC).
“BOSC is our occasion to offer wine professionals across the province an opportunity to refine their sommelier skills, through tasting and testing their knowledge in a live, competitive situation,” said James Peden, CAPS Ontario president, and director of operations at Liberty Entertainment Group. “The gala is always a fun and buzzy event for those who love hospitality to enjoy dinner, taste wines, bid on auction items and appreciate a convivial evening, all to raise funds for our community and ongoing industry education. As always, funds raised from entry donations will allow us to sponsor wine professionals requiring financial assistance and scholarships to further their careers.”
“The August CAPS CUP and the September preliminaries are open to all who want to evaluate their knowledge in a safe and inclusive environment,” explained Heather McDougall, CAPS Ontario Board member and owner of SIPS Toronto. “We encourage sommeliers interested in competition or those just who are curious to experience an exam setting, to participate. We look forward to seeing everyone support the industry for our program of events.”
The flight of prestigious wines which will be tasted in the preliminary competition will be true expressions of the terroir of the greatest world class varietals, both local and international and are being pre-selected by industry experts. An active call for international and regional wines for donation to the competition has gone out to the industry; wines selected may also be tasted at the November BOSC finals.
Raising a glass to the community
Competitors in BOSC 2024 reflect the diverse spectrum of wine community in Ontario and include students representing the wine education spectrum of Court of Master Sommeliers, CAPS and WSET-certified professionals. Facilitated by dedicated CAPS Ontario Board volunteers and sponsors, the events enable CAPS Ontario to better connect with its members and advance the sense of industry community within the provincial wine trade and associations.
The BOSC 2024 competition event on November 12th at Liberty Grand in Toronto is a fundraiser in support of CAPS Ontario, the non-profit organization that funds educational programs and competitions for Ontario’s sommelier community. BOSC is a licensed event and attendees, and participants must be 19 years of age to participate. Tickets and tables go on sale in September at https://on.sommelierscanada.ca/.
About CAPS
CAPS is a pan-Canadian association that brings together the sommelier profession, restaurant services and key stakeholders of the hospitality industry. CAPS is comprised of provincial chapters based in Halifax (CAPS Atlantic), Montreal (ACSP Quebec), Toronto (CAPS Ontario), Winnipeg (CAPS Manitoba) and Vancouver (CAPS BC). Passionately dedicated to service, CAPS is committed to building a strong community of sommeliers and fostering the growth of the culture of hospitality in Canada. For more information visit www.sommelierscanada.com and https://on.sommelierscanada.ca/; follow @caps_bc, @ACSP-Quebec @caps_ac and @caps.ontario and tag #CAPS #capsontario #BOSC2024.
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