China’s first Master Sommelier named

Lu Yang, corporate wine director for Shangri-la Hotel group, has become the first Chinese sommelier to be awarded the Master Sommelier title – the highest accolade of the profession – the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) has announced.

The three newly announced Master Sommeliers in 2017: Piotr Pietras, head sommelier at Launceston Place, and Stefan Neumann, head sommelier at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Yang Lu, corporate wine director of Shangri-la Hotel group

The addition of Lu to the esteemed sanctum of Master Sommeliers marked the first time that a title of this magnitude was given to a Chinese sommelier.

Having obtained his WSET Diploma in 2011, Lu was also the first Advanced Sommelier from Greater China. Lu is also an experienced wine judge for many different regional and international wine competitions, including our Asian Chardonnay Masters.

In the same announcement, the CMS also revealed another two additions: Stefan Neumann, head sommelier at London’s Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, who was born and raised in Germany, and Piotr Pietras, head sommelier at Launceston Place, also in London, and the second Polish Master Sommelier.

The three new additions bring the total number of Master Sommeliers to 236 members worldwide since its first exam was conducted in 1969.

Organised by the CMS, the exam is broken down into three sections: a practical wine service test, a theory test (oral not written) covering all aspects of the wine, spirits, beer and cigar industries, and finally a blind tasting of six wines. The minimum passing score for each of the three sections is 75%, instead of 60% for the advanced sommelier exam.

Last year, China also saw its first Master of Wine, Fongyee Walker MW, based in Beijing.