We are thrilled to announce that Jesse Becker MS, Master Sommelier, has joined the Sommeliers Choice Awards 2025 as our Regional and Category Ambassador for Germany and Austria region. With his extensive expertise and deep connections within the wine industry, Jesse is set to bring his passion and knowledge to this prestigious role.

Master Sommelier Jesse Becker has worked for some of the top restaurants in the United States, including Napa Valley's Tra Vigne, Chicago's NoMI at the Park Hyatt, and Colorado's Frasca Food and Wine. His training included three harvests in California and France, and he has worked in nearly every facet of the wine trade for over two decades. Jesse's interest in wine began while working in restaurants as a college student.

Master Sommelier, Jesse Becker

He passed the Certified and Advanced exams in 2006 and 2007 and the Master Sommelier exam in 2008 while under Bobby Stuckey, MS's tutelage at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder. Jesse is an ambassador for Germany's VDP and is the first American to pass the German Wine Professional exam from the Deutsches Weininstitut. He's an Austrian Wine Marketing Board educator and writes about German and Austrian wines on his website: Wine in Germany & Austria. In addition to teaching and writing, Jesse is the US Sales Manager for Veritable Wines & Estates, a premium portfolio of German and Austrian wines. He is a partner at ROCKWERK Grüner Veltliner. Jesse resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Image Source: Österreichs generische und spezifische Weinbaugebiete © Austrian Wine / Austrian Wine

Jesse Becker MS will be growing the awareness of Germany and Austria wine category via education and content on the Sommeliers Choice Awards. You can also meet him at the USA Trade Tasting show in Chicago in 2025 where he will taste some of the German and Austrian wines and create awareness about the regions.

Sommeliers Choice Awards is an international wine competition organized by Beverage Trade Network that helps wine producers around the world grow in the on-premise channels of the USA market. The main objective of the competition is to benchmark wines that are great for restaurant wine lists and by-the-glass programs.

Sommeliers Choice Awards was created with a clear vision to create a wine competition that truly reflects the expertise and preferences of sommeliers, and to reward wines that are a great fit for on-premise channels and wine consumption.

The wine competition has grown consistently over the last 6 years and now has become one of the most important wine competitions in the USA for wine brands that are looking to set them apart for on-premise channels.

The Sommeliers Choice Awards Regional and Category Ambassadors Program

The Sommeliers Choice Awards 2025 proudly introduces the Regional and Category Ambassadors Program, an initiative designed to promote excellence and innovation in the global beverage industry. This program offers industry leaders the opportunity to network, gain global recognition, and explore commission opportunities while championing the regions and wine categories they are passionate about.

As Regional and Category Ambassador, Jesse Becker MS will represent Austria and Germany. His upcoming webinar, titled "Austrian and German Wines: Strategies for Growing Market Share in the U.S.," promises to provide invaluable insights for sommeliers of the USA and also wineries in Germany and Austria.

Why are Sommeliers Choice Awards different? 

Wines are judged in five categories: food pairability, typicity, quality, value, and packaging. Judges consider two overarching questions whilst considering these five categories: “Would we stock this?” and "Will the consumer buy the second glass?" In essence, then, the entire focus of the awards is finding wines that are a great fit for wine lists and by-the-glass programs. 

Sommeliers Choice Awards has created a reputation for bringing on-premise trade buyers wines that are a great fit for wine lists and by-the-glass programs. Sommeliers can see the winning wines and use them to curate their wine lists.

This is a great opportunity for wine producers from Germany and Austria to enter the wines in the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards and get their wines in front of top restaurant wine professionals in the USA.

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Who are the judges of the Sommeliers Choice Awards and how wine brands can benefit? 

The judges of the Sommeliers Choice Awards are top Restaurant Wine Buyers of the USA, Master Sommeliers, National, and Regional Restaurant group buyers, and leading wine directors of the on-premise channels. The judging panel will also include leading and specialized wine importers and distributors. 

Each panel has a Master Sommelier which means each wine is also reviewed by one Master Sommelier. The judges are real trade buyers and come with direct buying responsibilities. One of the main commercial benefits wine producers have is that the wines are also judged by the package and thus the judges can see the wine bottles once the blind tasting is done which gives a brand solid visibility. 

Each brand also gets constructive trade feedback from these top trade professionals is very valuable. Feedback includes market feedback like Is your wine a good fit for on-premise channel? is the region or varietal in demand in the US market? Is it a good fit for the glass program? and if the judges are interested in your brand, they also have an option to ask for more details like pricing and sampling. 

Apart from the feedback, each wine gets a professional tasting note that they can use in custom shelf talkers of SCA. The 2025 SCA judging panel will also include importers and distributors specialized in restaurant wines which brings a solid benefit for international and domestic wine brands looking to get the attention of state distributors and importers. 

If you are looking to sell more of your wines to on-premise establishments such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, and bars, then Sommeliers Choice Awards is the right wine competition for your wines.