Norway Takes the World Title – Denmark’s Jonathan Gouveia MS Finishes an Impressive 7th

From left: Pascaline Lepeltier (France), Nikolai Haram Svorte (Norway) and Wataru Iwata (Japan). Image: Association de la Sommellerie Internationale

Nikolai Haram Svorte of Norway is the ASI Best Sommelier of the World 2026. He was crowned on Friday 16 October at the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon, ahead of Pascaline Lepeltier of France in second place and Wataru Iwata of Japan in third. The title goes to a Nordic sommelier, in the first world final held in Lisbon since 1978.

Denmark’s candidate, Jonathan Gouveia MS, reached the semi-final as one of 20 candidates and finished 7th out of 66 sommeliers from around the world.

A Week That Tests the Whole Job

The candidates were tested on every part of the sommelier’s work: theory, practical restaurant service, food pairing and drinks from all over the world. Early in the week there were written questions alongside practical tasks. One example: the guests at your table want their white wine with the starter in exactly five minutes, and the bottle is warm. What do you do? The answer was on the service table. An ice bucket with ice, water and salt chills the wine in no time, and a glass of champagne as an aperitif helps while the guests wait.

The final was held in front of more than 600 people in the theatre. The three finalists blind tasted wines and spirits, served in bar and restaurant scenarios, suggested food pairings and corrected a wine list full of errors. Then came a secret challenge, revealed only on the day.

About Jonathan Gouveia MS

From left: Toke Fiedler Terkildsen, Jonathan Gouveia and Tim Vollerslev. Image: DSF

Jonathan never planned a life in wine. After school he sent his CV to the Michelin restaurants in Copenhagen. One of them told him to either train as a waiter or learn about wine. He chose wine, and started at Dansk Sommelier Uddannelse in January 2017.

His results since then:

•      Danish Under-30 Sommelier Champion

•      Danish Sommelier Champion 2021

•      Best Sommelier Nordic 2023

•      4th place at ASI Best Sommelier of Europe, Africa & Middle East, Belgrade 2024

•      Master Sommelier 2025, one of only three in Denmark

•      Semi-finalist and 7th place at ASI Best Sommelier of the World, Lisbon 2026

Belgrade was a near miss. He was one place short of the final. “There’s a lot of learning in failure,” he has told sommelier.dk, and Lisbon proved it. Jonathan has also spoken about wanting to build a stronger culture of study around wine in Denmark. A top-ten finish at the world championship makes a strong case for that.

A Proud Day for Denmark

“We are incredibly proud of Jonathan. Reaching the semi-final and finishing 7th out of 66 of the world’s best sommeliers is a superb result, and being in Lisbon to watch him compete was a privilege. Denmark is a small country, but our sommeliers compete with the very best. Nina Jensen took second place in the world in both 2019 and 2023, and Jonathan has now shown that the Danish level holds. Congratulations to Nikolai Haram Svorte and to Norway on a well-deserved title,” says Tim Vollerslev, founder and vice president of Dansk Sommelier Forening, who followed the contest in Lisbon.

The final can be watched on ASI’s YouTube channel.