Kelly Wooldridge of Mizuna Wins Regional Round in Young Sommelier Challenge

Kelly Wooldridge, the GM and wine director at Mizuna, has advanced to the national Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Young Sommelier competition. The contest aims to promote "the expertise of the young wine and spirit professional and encourages mastery of wine and spirit knowledge." Qualified candidates work towards being named National Young Sommelier in three stages: a first-round national written test in December, a second-round test held in person in nine regions in January and March, and the national finals to be held in May in Santa Barbara, California.

Wooldridge competed against Austin Heidt of Frasca Food & Wine and Daniel Miller of Del Frisco's Grille in Ft. Worth, Texas. for the Southwest regional medal. The wine-centric competition was hosted at Mizuna, chef Frank Bonanno's flagship restaurant. Fingers crossed for our local sommelier in May!