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Official Rules and Guidelines for the Somm Showdown
Download a copy of the Official Rules and Guidelines HERE
Eligibility:
Nashville Wine Auction’s (“NWA”) Somm Showdown is open to any individual who meets the criteria set forth below:
- Is at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
- Has at least three (3) years of experience in the wine or hospitality industry.
- Must be a resident of the State of Tennessee.
Nashville Wine Auction Employees, Board Members, and Spouses of Employees and Board Members are ineligible to apply for this competition.
Process:
Applications must be received by midnight on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Information from the applications will be anonymized so that personally identifying information (employer, gender, etc.) is removed. Wine certifications will be shown in a standardized format. The anonymized information, including answers to the questions, will be presented in a template format. This anonymized and standardized information will first be reviewed by the Competition Moderators, Calvin Webster and Jonathan Ross. The Competition Moderators will make recommendations for Competitor Selection to Nashville Wine Auction team. The anonymized and standardized information will then be reviewed by a panel of five members of the NWA Board of Directors and Emerging Leaders Board. The panel will select six (6) applicants and one (1) alternate to be a part of the competition.
Applicants will be notified if they were selected for the competition by August 14, 2025.
Applicants will be assigned to a chef that will be making a dish for the food and wine pairing component of the competition. Applicants will work with chef to taste dish selected by the chef for the competition. Chefs are required to decide on the dish that they wish to serve by August 29, 2025.
Applicants must select a wine to be paired with the dish to be made by September 15, 2025. The wine selection must have a retail price of no more than $45 per bottle in Tennessee.; twelve (12 bottles of the selected wine must be able to be delivered to NWA by November 1, 2025.
Judges:
There will be a 4 judge panel consisting of members in the wine, hospitality and/or food and beverage media. One of the judges will be Alex Burch, the winner of the 2024 Sommelier Showdown.
The Event Location and Time:
- Geodis Park, 501 Benton Avenue, Nashville, TN
- Sunday, November 16, 2025
- Doors Open to Guests at 11:30 am
- Contest begins sharply at 12 pm and is expected to end by 3:30 pm.
Contestants are expected to arrive by 11 am.
Dress is business casual.
The Contest:
The Contest has 3 distinct components that will be judged.
- A wine and food pairing contest – 6 contestants will participate; the 4 contestants with the most points for best pairing will move to the second component.
- A wine theory and knowledge test that will be conducted in a Jeopardy style format – The top 4 contests from component one will participate. The 2 contestants with the most points after the event will move on to the final component.
- A blind tasting of two to three dry wines – The contestants must analyze, describe and identify the wine by grape, country, region and vintage.
There will be 100 to 120 audience members observing the contest. They will be tasting along for the food and wine pairing and for the blind tasting. Audience members will be able to cast a vote for the best food and wine pairing; judges voting will be more heavily weighted.
The Prizes:
The top scoring winner in the Blind Tasting will be awarded $2,000 to fund continuing wine education. The second scoring winner will be awarded $1,000. Participants that are not awarded cash prizes will receive wine gifts.
The Moderators:
The event will be moderated by Jonathan Ross, Master Sommelier and Wine Importer, currently Wine Director for the Twelve-Thirty Club and by Calvin Webster, DipWSET and Wine Consultant.
Press and Promotion:
NWA will promote the event and is responsible for all photographs and press releases. We will request a headshot of each contestant. Applicants consent to the use of their headshot and information in promoting the event.
Somm Showdown
Official Application and Acknowledgement
NOTICE: Applications must be submitted no later than midnight on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Click HERE for more information about tickets
Official Rules and Guidelines for the Somm Showdown
View and Download a copy of the Official Rules and Guidelines HERE
______________________________________________
Official Rules and Guidelines for the Somm Showdown
Download a copy of the Official Rules and Guidelines HERE
Eligibility:
Nashville Wine Auction’s (“NWA”) Somm Showdown is open to any individual who meets the criteria set forth below:
- Is at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
- Has at least three (3) years of experience in the wine or hospitality industry.
- Must be a resident of the State of Tennessee.
Nashville Wine Auction Employees, Board Members, and Spouses of Employees and Board Members are ineligible to apply for this competition.
Process:
Applications must be received by midnight on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Information from the applications will be anonymized so that personally identifying information (employer, gender, etc.) is removed. Wine certifications will be shown in a standardized format. The anonymized information, including answers to the questions, will be presented in a template format. This anonymized and standardized information will first be reviewed by the Competition Moderators, Calvin Webster and Jonathan Ross. The Competition Moderators will make recommendations for Competitor Selection to Nashville Wine Auction team. The anonymized and standardized information will then be reviewed by a panel of five members of the NWA Board of Directors and Emerging Leaders Board. The panel will select six (6) applicants and one (1) alternate to be a part of the competition.
Applicants will be notified if they were selected for the competition by August 14, 2025.
Applicants will be assigned to a chef that will be making a dish for the food and wine pairing component of the competition. Applicants will work with chef to taste dish selected by the chef for the competition. Chefs are required to decide on the dish that they wish to serve by August 29, 2025.
Applicants must select a wine to be paired with the dish to be made by September 15, 2025. The wine selection must have a retail price of no more than $45 per bottle in Tennessee.; twelve (12 bottles of the selected wine must be able to be delivered to NWA by November 1, 2025.
Judges:
There will be a 4 judge panel consisting of members in the wine, hospitality and/or food and beverage media. One of the judges will be Alex Burch, the winner of the 2024 Sommelier Showdown.
The Event Location and Time:
- Geodis Park, 501 Benton Avenue, Nashville, TN
- Sunday, November 16, 2025
- Doors Open to Guests at 11:30 am
- Contest begins sharply at 12 pm and is expected to end by 3:30 pm.
Contestants are expected to arrive by 11 am.
Dress is business casual.
The Contest:
The Contest has 3 distinct components that will be judged.
- A wine and food pairing contest – 6 contestants will participate; the 4 contestants with the most points for best pairing will move to the second component.
- A wine theory and knowledge test that will be conducted in a Jeopardy style format – The top 4 contests from component one will participate. The 2 contestants with the most points after the event will move on to the final component.
- A blind tasting of two to three dry wines – The contestants must analyze, describe and identify the wine by grape, country, region and vintage.
There will be 100 to 120 audience members observing the contest. They will be tasting along for the food and wine pairing and for the blind tasting. Audience members will be able to cast a vote for the best food and wine pairing; judges voting will be more heavily weighted.
The Prizes:
The top scoring winner in the Blind Tasting will be awarded $2,000 to fund continuing wine education. The second scoring winner will be awarded $1,000. Participants that are not awarded cash prizes will receive wine gifts.
The Moderators:
The event will be moderated by Jonathan Ross, Master Sommelier and Wine Importer, currently Wine Director for the Twelve-Thirty Club and by Calvin Webster, DipWSET and Wine Consultant.
Press and Promotion:
NWA will promote the event and is responsible for all photographs and press releases. We will request a headshot of each contestant. Applicants consent to the use of their headshot and information in promoting the event.