Julie Dupouy-Young, the Irish Guild of Sommeliers’ Best Sommelier of Ireland for 2018, will represent the Guild at the ASI World Sommelier Contest in Antwerp, Belgium next year.

The announcement was made by the President of the Irish Guild Oliver Murtagh. Dupouy-Young has held the Irish Guild’s title of Ireland’s Best Sommelier since 2009. The deputy candidate Tomasz Szczepanski was also named for the contest.

Dupouy-Young works at Chapter One Restaurant in Dublin, is the Champagne Brand Ambassador for Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd, and runs her own independent consultancy – Down2Wine. While she originally hails from France, she has resided in Ireland for a number of years and previously worked as a sommelier at several Michelin star restaurants including Dublin’s Greenhouse Restaurant and Patrick Guilbaud.

Tomasz Szczepanski is the Head Sommelier at Shanahan’s on the Green Restaurant in Dublin. He achieved second place in the 2018 Irish Guild of Sommeliers Competition and also placed fifth in the Polish National Sommelier competition. Originally from Poland, Szczepanski has worked at Las Tapas de Lola, Marcel’s and La Maison restaurants in Dublin. He was awarded the Junior Sommelier title in 2014 in Warsaw.

The ASI is the world’s largest organiser of sommelier competitions, running periodical, continental and global contests. In 2016, Dupouy-Young was chosen as the third-best sommelier in the world after the grand final of the last ASI World Contest.