I meet Béatrice Becher just after lunch at a fairly crowded Sturehof, the restaurant that never closes and always is crowded and where the wine flows, day and night. It must be a challenging place to work for a top sommelier, or perhaps it’s the ultimate place for the same reasons.

Béatrice has recently won the Swedish Sommelier champion trophy and in between her hectic schedule with trips, studying for upcoming challenges and her work at Sturehof I was lucky to get a little chat. With an incredibly solid wine list, I’m curious if Beatrice has had the chance to influence it already since her start in December last year. And as she pours me a crisp clear and clean Rebholz Pfalz Riesling she smiles and says: “Of course, but it’s a long process and it will take some time”.

Congratulations on your recently won title! Sommelier competitions have been fairly dominated by men, with a few exceptions, in the history, why do you think that is? And will we see a new era of female stars now?

I think that the trade has been dominated by men in general for the past 40 years, but recent years has seen more and more young females graduating from restaurant academies and sommelier educations and hopefully we don’t have to wait for more than five years until we can see a more equal division in the business. With a better spread in the trade, more women will take part in the sommelier competitions too.

What’s the intriguing part for you about competing in your profession?

For me it’s definitely the preparations for the competition, all hours of study and to fulfil all the steps with grace and to focus on refining my technique. All that hard work also pushes me forward in the line of my profession.

Please explain a little about the stages in the competition? Who are the average competitor and who is the average judge?

The larger part of the competition is wine and winemaking theory. There are also some practical moments as blind tasting and other sommelier related assignments. I would say the average competitor has to be very niched into the subject, a little more nerdy about the profession and able to put a lot of time into it. The judges and jury members are for the large part former competitors and champions themselves or people with great history, insight and knowledge in the trade.

Which of all those stages are your favourite and why?

For me, I always dread the endless subject of theory but kind of like the blind tasting. I you have tried a lot of classic wines, which I get to do in my job, it can be very rewarding and it’s definitely the most fun part.

Tell us a little about your professional career, how did it all begin and what is the main path you have followed?

I started out helping my father when I was about 14, but I didn’t think it was very fascinating work and my parents didn’t really desire me to follow in their footsteps. After school I travelled in the USA and found the Napa Valley wine scene and totally fell in love with it. Whilst back home I researched the opportunities to study about wine and found Restaurangakademien in Stockholm and moved from Malmö to here right away. It was by then pretty clear what I wanted to do with my life. I have since graduation had my internship at F12 and Grappe and I worked for a while at Erik’s Vinbar before landing this position at Sturehof in December last year.

Coming from a restaurateur family, do you think you have had any advantages in your career choice?

No, not really, but since I practically have been growing up in a restaurant, the atmosphere and pace there is very familiar to me.

You practically live and breath food and wine, what are the best combination you have ever tasted?

Oh, normally I like the easy combinations.  But once in Paris, I had a PX sherry with a very sweet, heavy and powerful, chocolate coffeemocca dessert and it was just thrilling.

What is the single best bottle you have had?

I love the French wines and especially champagne which always makes me happy. I kind of fancy rosé champagne and I once had a Cuveé William Deutz Rosé 1996 which took my breath away.

What do you usually drink at home on an average day?

I drink a lot of Riesling, as most sommeliers tend to do. Mostly off dry Riesling like Mosel Kabinett style which are lighter in alcohol and has more sugar. I really like that.

As the recent reigning champion of Swedish sommeliers, what is the next step for you?

Next step in this competition is the Nordic championships that will come up in October. I study for that now.

Do you have any tips for the curious winos out there, an odd tip for a taste combination perhaps?

I’d say, go for the simple stuff, single good tastes with classic wines. People tend to complicate things when it comes to combining wine and food. I always recommend a Manzanilla sherry with some cheese and hams, as it’s just a perfect combination. Champagne is also good with about anything. Of course a white or red classic burgundy is superb with chicken or if you prefer a grilled entrecôte, go with a Napa Valley cabernet. I love a good meal with a good wine, it’s just as simple as that.

Words and Image: Pär Strömberg