From Wine Taboo to World Stage: The Jai Singh Story

From humble beginnings in India to discovering his passion for wine in Italy, Jai Singh’s remarkable journey has brought him to Lisbon, where he is making history as India’s first representative at the ASI Best Sommelier of the World competition.

For someone who grew up in a family where alcohol was frowned upon, becoming one of India’s most accomplished sommeliers might seem an unlikely career choice. Yet that is precisely the path Jai Singh has followed. His journey has taken him from New Delhi to London, from the vineyards of southern Italy to international wine competitions, and now to Lisbon, Portugal, where he is representing India at the prestigious Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) Contest Best Sommelier of the World 2026, taking place from October 11 to 17. As the first Indian sommelier to participate in the competition, Jai is breaking new ground for a country whose wine professionals are increasingly finding their place in the international community. His presence among some of the world’s finest sommeliers is an important personal achievement, but it is also a moment of considerable pride for Indian sommellerie, reflecting how far the profession has come in a relatively short time.

Jai’s story is all the more interesting because his introduction to wine was anything but conventional. Growing up in a middle-class Indian family, he was expected to pursue a secure professional career, perhaps following his father into banking. Alcohol was not permitted in the family home, and wine was certainly not part of everyday conversation. But Jai had other ideas. Attracted by the opportunities and international exposure offered by the hospitality industry, he enrolled in a hotel management and tourism programme in 2005, subsequently beginning his career in hotels and restaurants in New Delhi. In 2010, he moved to London to pursue further studies in management while supporting himself through long hours working in restaurants and hotels. As he recalled in a personal account published by JancisRobinson.com in 2021, those early years involved considerable hard work, with little indication that wine would eventually become his calling.

The turning point came in 2016 when Jai, newly married to his Italian wife, moved to Corato, a small town near Bari in Puglia. Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, he encountered a culture in which wine was woven into the fabric of everyday life, its traditions inseparable from agriculture, food and family. Arriving during the autumn harvest, he visited the Torrevento winery in the Castel del Monte wine region and began to develop a much deeper appreciation of wine and its origins. Although he had studied wine during his hospitality education and served it professionally, living in Italy encouraged him to look beyond the bottle and understand the history, geography and people behind it. He subsequently completed his WSET Level 2 qualification in 2019 and continued his studies through additional wine education programmes, including support from a Wine Scholar Guild scholarship. What had begun as a career in hospitality was gradually evolving into a genuine passion for wine.

In an interview with Reva K. Singh published in the Summer 2025 issue of Sommelier India, Jai spoke enthusiastically about his experiences in Italy, his approach to wine service and the importance of continually developing one’s palate. He recalled tasting a particularly memorable bottle of Domaine Anne Gros Echézeaux 2005 on New Year’s Eve in 2019, describing how its aromas of wild berries, spice, mushrooms and forest floor had stayed with him long after the occasion. He also revealed something of his personality through his approach to food and wine pairing, suggesting the distinctly unconventional combination of pani-puri with yoghurt and tamarind sauce alongside Fino or Manzanilla Sherry. For Jai, a wine list should reflect the personality and philosophy of the sommelier rather than simply the preferences of suppliers, while successful service requires as much emotional intelligence and warmth as technical knowledge. His years in hospitality have clearly shaped his belief that a sommelier’s role is not merely to demonstrate expertise but to make wine enjoyable and accessible to the people being served.

These qualities, together with years of study and professional experience, came to the fore in January 2025 when Jai entered the inaugural Best Sommelier of India competition, organised by the Sommeliers Association of India (SAI) at The LaLiT Mumbai. The three-day competition brought together 14 Indian sommeliers from around the world and tested their knowledge and abilities through a demanding series of theoretical examinations, blind tastings and practical service challenges. Jai emerged victorious, winning the first national title and earning the opportunity to represent India internationally. Speaking to Sommelier India after his victory, he recalled the intensity of the competition, which included identifying and describing two wines in just 80 seconds. Such challenges require not only a finely trained palate and considerable knowledge but also the composure to perform under pressure. He was equally keen to emphasise that the best sommelier is not necessarily the person who delivers the most flawless or mechanical performance, but someone who brings humanity, personality and genuine hospitality to the table.

Winning the national competition was an important milestone, but Jai was already looking further ahead. In July 2025, he joined four other Indian sommeliers, Pankaj Singh, Amber Deshmukh, Savio Cardoza and Karan Patyal, at the ASI Education Bootcamp Asia & Pacific in Singapore, where they participated in intensive workshops covering blind tasting, wine service, wine-list curation and other aspects of professional sommellerie. He subsequently represented India at the ASI Contest Best Sommelier of Asia & Pacific 2025 in Malaysia, gaining valuable experience against competitors from countries with more established traditions of sommelier education and international competition. Each experience contributed to his preparation for Lisbon, where the demands are even greater. The ASI World Contest brings together leading sommeliers from across the globe, challenging them to demonstrate an exceptional breadth of knowledge across wines, spirits and other beverages while executing complicated practical service tasks with speed, accuracy and confidence.

Preparing for a competition of this calibre requires an extraordinary commitment to study and practice, often alongside the demands of a full-time professional career. Jai’s preparations have included regular blind tasting, extensive theoretical revision and intensive service training, with an important contribution from his mentor, Mattia Antonio Cianca, Co-Founder and Vice President of SAI. Cianca, who represented Italy at the ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World in 2023, worked closely with Jai in Italy earlier this year, helping him refine his skills and prepare for the pressures of international competition. Having experienced the demands of the World Contest himself, Cianca understands the combination of knowledge, discipline and mental agility required to perform at this level. He sees Jai’s participation as an important development not only for his protégé but also for Indian sommellerie as a whole. “One of the ambitions behind founding SAI was to create a genuine pathway for Indian sommeliers to access international education, mentorship, and competition, and Jai’s participation represents the clearest expression of that vision so far,” he says.

Jai’s achievement comes at an interesting time for the Indian wine industry. While India’s hospitality professionals have long enjoyed an excellent international reputation, sommellerie as a specialised profession is still developing within the country. Opportunities for advanced wine education, internationally recognised qualifications and competitive experience have historically been more limited than in established wine markets. The formation of the Sommeliers Association of India in 2024 was therefore a significant step towards creating a more structured professional environment. Under the leadership of Co-Founder and President Amrita Singh and Co-Founder and Vice President Mattia Antonio Cianca, the association has worked to connect Indian sommeliers with their international counterparts and provide access to education, certification and mentorship. Since launching its membership programme in October 2024, SAI has grown to more than 200 members, including 130 sommeliers, while introducing ASI Prep, Certification Level 1, Certification Level 2 and the ASI Diploma examinations in India.

Another important milestone came in May 2026, when India secured full membership of ASI at its General Assembly in Taiwan, formally joining the international sommelier fraternity. The association’s progress has been rapid, from presenting its vision at the ASI General Assembly in Monaco in February 2024 to establishing a national championship and supporting Indian candidates at international competitions. Jai’s appearance in Lisbon is perhaps the most visible example of what this approach can achieve. As Amrita Singh observes, “Jai representing India at the ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World 2026 marks a defining moment for Indian sommellerie and a powerful affirmation of the vision behind SAI.” She hopes his participation will encourage a new generation of Indian sommeliers to pursue international education and competition with greater confidence, adding that Lisbon should be viewed not as a destination but as the beginning of a much larger journey.

What makes Jai’s story particularly appealing is that his ambitions extend well beyond winning competitions. In his account published by Jancis Robinson in 2021, he described a long-held desire to change perceptions of wine in India by promoting education, responsible consumption and a deeper understanding of viticulture. Having grown up in an environment where alcohol carried negative social associations, he wanted to introduce people to wine as a product of agriculture, culture and craftsmanship. Among the ideas he outlined were establishing accessible wine education programmes in northern Indian cities such as Lucknow and Dehradun, and even developing a vineyard in the foothills of the Himalayas, exploring the potential for viticulture in a part of the country not traditionally associated with wine production. Whether these ambitions eventually come to fruition remains to be seen, but they reveal someone interested not simply in building a successful international career, but also in contributing to the development of a wine culture in his home country.

There is another dimension to Jai’s participation in Lisbon that deserves recognition. Indian sommeliers have often built successful careers in international hotels and restaurants, yet their achievements have not always translated into broader recognition for India within the global wine community. Jai himself acknowledged this in his earlier interview with Sommelier India, explaining that after living abroad for many years, he wanted to find ways to remain professionally and personally connected with his home country. Winning the national championship and subsequently representing India internationally has given him precisely that opportunity. His achievements also come at a time when Indian chefs, restaurants and hospitality professionals are attracting increasing international attention, suggesting that sommeliers have an important role to play in the country’s wider culinary evolution.

For Jai, the experience of competing in Lisbon is already a success, irrespective of the final result. “Representing India at the ASI Contest Best Sommelier of the World is already a form of success for me,” he says. “The message is simple: ‘Hello, we are here too.’ I hope my journey encourages more Indian sommeliers to compete internationally and become part of the global community. If my participation helps inspire that future, I will consider it a success.”

It is a sentiment that captures both the personal significance of this moment and its wider implications for Indian sommellerie. From an upbringing where wine was barely understood to a professional career built around studying, appreciating and serving it, Jai has travelled an extraordinary distance. His journey through India, Britain and Italy has given him a distinctive perspective, while his success in national competition has brought him the opportunity to represent his country on one of the profession’s most demanding international stages. Regardless of the outcome in Lisbon, Jai Singh has already made history, and his example may encourage many more talented young Indians to consider sommellerie a profession in which they, too, can aspire to international excellence.