Daphné Sonn crowned best professional sommelier in the French Caribbean

Organised under the auspices of the Union de la Sommellerie Française (UDSF), this regional competition brought together practising sommeliers from the French territories in the Caribbean. As Martinique and French Guiana do not yet have a Sommelier Union – although their establishment is planned by the end of the year with the help of the three existing associations – the competition welcomed candidates from Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and Guadeloupe, who had been selected through local preliminary rounds.
Unlike certain awards open to students or amateurs, the competition is strictly reserved for sommeliers who are actively practising their profession. The presence of the UDSF president, Fabrice Sommier, underscores the importance attached to this regional competition, which helps to structure the profession in the overseas territories.

Two months of intensive preparation

Each territory organised a preliminary round in advance to select its representative for the regional phase, which took place on 15 March in Guadeloupe. For this 2026 edition, five contestants in Guadeloupe, six in Saint-Barthélemy and eight in Saint-Martin took part last January in the challenging test of 100 questions in 100 minutes, covering French and foreign wines as well as spirits, tea, coffee, cigars and even waters. Daphné Sonn, the sommelier at the Océan 82 restaurant in Grand Case, came out on top with ease during this selection process. All that remained was to prepare for what would be her first official competition. She undertook intensive preparation with the help of Stéphane Emorine, president of the UDSF Saint-Martin, Jérôme Richard of Totem Wines (and a board member), as well as several specialist external contributors, to perfect her knowledge, particularly regarding cigars and rum. 

An all-female final

During the competition, the candidates were assessed on several practical tests covering the very broad spectrum of the sommelier’s profession – service, taking orders, decanting, etc. – as well as a blind tasting and an English-language test, now mandatory in sommelier competitions.
&Daphnée Sonn prevailed in the semi-final against the representative from Saint-Barthélemy, Antonin Jutten, head sommelier at the Le Barthélemy hotel. She then found herself in the final against Guylaine Roussel from Guadeloupe, head of spirits tourism at the Montebello distillery.  What made the difference? She was in her element, simply feeling as though she were doing her job, which gave her a fluidity and naturalness rarely seen amidst the stress of competitions. But it was also her open-mindedness and attention to detail – particularly regarding food and wine pairings – which initially weren’t included in the scoring criteria but were ultimately incorporated into the marking scheme as bonus points – that won over the jury, comprising restaurateurs, wine merchants, wine distributors and representatives from distilleries. Whereas the other candidates proposed general pairings, she provided precise details of the ingredients, their origin, the cooking method, the sauce… demonstrating a particularly polished approach. With this regional title, Daphnée Sonn becomes a true ambassador for the sommelier profession in the French West Indies, in a field that is gradually becoming more female-dominated, mirroring the national scene epitomised notably by Pascaline Lepeltier, France’s best sommelier and a Master of French Craft (MOF) in sommelier studies.
This victory puts Saint Martin firmly in the spotlight. Daphnée hopes to use this opportunity to promote the 25th region of the Union de la Sommellerie Française. Whilst Saint-Martin has a limited number of sommeliers – fewer than ten across the territory – there are many wine enthusiasts. The UDSF Saint-Martin organises monthly events for them; the next one is scheduled for 28 March on the theme of ‘cheeses and wines’ at Le Cottage in Grand Case. You can, of course, join the association if you are a professional in the wine or catering industry, but it is also possible to join as an amateur or to sign up for individual tastings (by contacting the president on 06 90 62 26 86). As for
the next edition of the competition, it is due to take place in two years’ time in Saint-Martin.