Plumpton Wine Division, the UK’s centre of excellence in education, research and development are delighted to announce one of their first-year international wine business students has won the annual Concours des Jeunes Professionnels du Vin (CJPV) Wine Tasting Competition for Young Professionals in Paris, and in doing so set a new points record.
The annual contest, sponsored by the French Government’s Department of Agriculture, pits young professionals from all over Europe against each other in a three-day long wine tasting competition.
Every year Plumpton sends two students over to France for this competition. This year Alex Finn and Charlotte Bradbury both International Wine Business students, were selected and went up against 30 competitors from 18 different European countries.
23-year-old Alex was one of the three finalists going head-to-head against professionals from Italy and Croatia before winning triumphantly with a score of 92, the highest points ever recorded in the history of the European competition. Charlotte was placed a very respectable 11th.
The three-day rigorous process sees competitors compete in three rounds: Wine Rating, Wine Characterisation and Communication with a Wine Tasting plus Commentary for the three finalists. In addition, both Alex and Charlotte each had to prepare a presentation on the nominated topic. This year’s topic was “Viticulture, a living sector that evolves on a daily basis”.
Tim Andrews, International Business lecturer at Plumpton said: “This really is a fantastic achievement. Alex is a highly enthusiastic and engaged Wine Business student and it’s always a pleasure to see our students’ hard work pay off. Both Alex and Charlotte have a very bright future ahead in this international industry.”
Alex Finn concluded: “I had a great few days with Charlotte. It is the biggest agricultural show in Europe, so there was plenty to see! For the tournament itself, it was great to see that I was the first English person to win, very happy! I would like to thank Plumpton for the opportunity. Hopefully, there are more winners in the future to come from Plumpton.” Alex will take home a cash prize of €400.
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