Jai Singh’s interview in the Summer 2025 issue of Sommelier India

Jai Singh, an Indian sommelier working in Italy, succeeded in bagging the prestigious title of Best Sommelier of India. Jai speaks to Reva K Singh in a freewheeling interview about what it means to be a sommelier and his journey so far

Excerpts from the interview:
What made you decide to throw your cap in and enter the ASI competition for Best Sommelier of India organised by the Sommeliers Association of India?
As sommeliers, all of us want to be a part of ASI, the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale, which is renowned as the world’s pre-eminent organisation for sommeliers. Last year during the ASI General Assembly, an association for Indian sommeliers was formed within ASI for the first time. At that time I decided to take part whenever a competition happened as it would give me the opportunity to connect with Indian wine professionals. I have been living abroad for the past 15 years, but I always thought of doing something in India to make my family and friends proud. Working abroad, I felt a disconnect with India, so through your magazine I hope to reach out and communicate that I am looking for projects in India to keep me professionally and personally connected.

What does it mean to be the Best Sommelier of India to you?
Being named the best sommelier of India is a great honour. The best sommelier is one who is not only skilled at wine service but is extremely knowledgeable in terms of theory at that particular date, with the added ability to read the question, recall information and communicate the answer in as little as 30 seconds. A good sommelier must also be very proficient in tasting wine blind. I tasted two wines and described them in 80 seconds. It is also important to be yourself while serving wine instead of thinking of who is seated at the table, because guests want to be served by a human being — someone with emotion, hesitation, nervousness or friendly nature — not by a machine that does the job perfectly without emotion.

What was your first encounter with wine and the wine industry?
During my graduation for hotel management and tourism in 2006, my professor taught us about wine which was quite fascinating, but I didn’t get the opportunity to taste it. Later, during my professional training at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Lucknow, I tasted wine at an event, but it was nothing special. However, after my WSET Level 2 exam when following the systematic approach to tasting, I started to appreciate and understand every single element of the wine. That’s why theory and tasting need to be carried out together.

What is it like to work as a sommelier in a foreign country? What are the challenges and rewards?
I have worked mainly in London and in Italy but my wine experience is only associated with Italy. Italy is well known for its wine production, stretching back not only to Roman times, but earlier to the Etruscan era. Wine is considered a holy beverage as the first miracle of Jesus was to change water into wine. Italians consider their wine to be the best, but my challenge is that I often don’t get the chance to taste international wines. So I have created a personal wine library at home to train my palate.

How much emphasis do you attach to food and wine pairing? Can you suggest an unusual match that works?
I practise food and wine pairing at home every day because for me food and wine, like a husband and wife, have to come together and create harmony on the palate. It’s similar to a marriage in which what a husband lacks, the wife fills and vice versa. An unusual pairing that works for me would be pani-puri with yoghurt and tamarind sauce paired with Fino or Manzanilla Sherry.

Do you remember the first time a wine really blew you away?
On New Year’s Eve 2019, I opened an amazing bottle of Domaine Anne Gros Echezeaux 2005. After 15 minutes of decanting it, every time I passed the table within two metres, I always got an amazing bouquet of fresh wild berries with spiciness, a touch of smokiness, wild mushrooms and wet forest soil. That memory is still very vivid in my mind and senses.

In your view, what is the most important element of a good wine list?
The most important element of a good wine list is that it should reflect the personality of the sommelier, not the suppliers or distributors. At the end of the day, everyone makes a business out of it, and creating a business with your own ideas and philosophy is important.

Which unusual grape varietal would you recommend Sommelier India readers to try?
Assyrtiko, a versatile white grape, which is a native of Greece producing simple stainlesssteel fermented wines as well as complex oak fermented and matured wine. Assyrtiko has aromas and flavours from citrus and stone fruit plus a lot of minerality, developing gasoline aromas with bottle aging. Technically, it is a white wine that shouts, “Try me, I can give you the satisfaction of aged wine, without the tannins of the reds.”

What is the most annoying customer habit?
It’s most annoying when guests who don’t even know how to hold a glass of wine show off as if they know more than the sommelier.

What is the oddest request you have received from a customer?
The oddest request I have received is to chill an extremely tannic, full-bodied, bold Bordeaux red wine, before serving it.

Have you ever dropped an expensive bottle of wine?
Touchwood, it hasn’t happened yet!

If you could give your younger self advice when starting out as a sommelier, what would it be?
I would say, “Believe in yourself and your dreams. And work hard to achieve them.”

Don’t worry about failure, because failure is more important than success. When you fail you think about it and correct your mistakes. But when you succeed, you don’t correct anything. Spend time with positive people who support you and push you to do better. Criticism is very easy to do and people are very good at criticising, but don’t allow their negative energy to affect your thoughts and feelings. Take in positive energy — even from a stranger — it will help you to move ahead.

What goals do you have for the future?
My goal is to keep striving to become the best sommelier! I’m planning to sit for a series of contests such as the Advanced Court of Master Sommelier exam in May 2025 in London and the ASI bootcamp in July in Singapore. Next, it will be the Best Sommelier of Asia and Pacific in September in Kuala Lumpur. Finally, I will be competeing for the Best Sommelier of the World in October 2026 in Portugal!