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True to its pioneering spirit across 47 years, Malta based Chi Hotels & Resorts (CHI), exclusive operator of the Corinthia Hotels brand worldwide and of the Wyndham and Ramada Plaza brands in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), has teamed up with one of France’s ‘Grande Marques de Champagne’, Taittinger to launch its highly ambitious ‘Corinthia Sommelier’ signature programme.
Devised by the company’s Products and Services division in, led by Shawn Pisani, the Corinthia Sommelier programme is aimed primarily at enhancing a hotel guest’s dining experience. A combination of quality products and services, the programme also provides motivational and educational tools to all CHI Hotels and Resorts’ beverage handling staff.
“Very often the small details make the biggest difference”, said Chi’s director of products and services Shawn Pisani. “The Corinthia Sommelier is all about going back to basics. Wines and champagnes are an integral part of the quality food and beverage concept within our hotels. When the right wine is chosen for the right occasion, a good meal is turned into a memorable dining experience. Corinthia Sommelier focuses on ensuring our food and beverage teams have the right tools and knowledge, enabling them to develop through personal ambition, thus ensuring that our customers receive the best service and advice at all times. We are aiming high with this development programme, and a clear endorsement of this is our close collaboration with Taittinger, who are one of the world’s top champagne producers and who have committed their vast resources and expertise to the success of our concept. Their years of experience, knowledge, ground-breaking innovation and passion add precious value to ‘Corinthia Sommelier’. Indeed, we are honoured to have them on board” concluded Pisani.
For Corinthia Sommelier, a combination of training modules, incentives and competitions have been devised by CHI and Taittinger to offer CHI food & beverage teams unsurpassed opportunities for development. These include tuition from the very basic to the most advanced certifications achievable in the beverage industry, participation in international trade competitions, including the annual Corinthia Sommelier Competition, which will see top sommeliers from around the globe vie for the prestigious title of ‘Sommelier of the Year’, and travel to renowned wine regions for first hand experience of wine-making processes from vine-growing to the fermentation and bottling of wines and champagnes.
Welcoming his company’s association with CHI, Mr. Clovis Taittinger said "Champagne Taittinger is very pleased and proud to share its knowledge and experience of fine wines with the Corinthia Hotels & Resorts innovative and ambitious Corinthia Sommelier Programme. This long term partnership will lead to a stronger understanding of wines and hopefully allow both the sommeliers and customers to discover and appreciate the essence, the spirit and the history of fine wines and the regions they come from. We are more than convinced that this programme will be a success for many years to come."
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
