The Guizhou Provincial Trial of the 2024 National Sommelier (Liquor) Competition was held in Xijiu

From November 15th to 17th, the Guizhou Provincial Trial of the 2024 National Sommelier (Liquor) Competition was held at the Xijiu Business Experience Center. Many leaders, guests and industry experts gathered in the magical and beautiful Aobu Wine Valley to witness this tasting event in the intoxicating aroma of wine, and to gather together to discover and cultivate high-level talents in the industry.

Lu Zhiming's speech

Lu Zhiming, former deputy secretary of the Party Group and deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial People's Congress, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. He emphasized that vocational skills competitions will effectively enhance the social status of technical workers, promote the extensive development of vocational training, and promote the improvement of corporate economic benefits, which is of great significance to promoting the long-term development of enterprises and social technological progress. The vocational skills competition in the liquor industry should not only be held for a long time, but also through the competition to discover and cultivate more high-quality and high-skilled talents, build a high-level liquor tasting talent team, and add talent vitality to the high-quality development of Guizhou's liquor industry.

Ban Chengnong announced the start of the competition

Ban Chengnong, former vice chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended the opening ceremony and announced the start of the competition. Wang Diqiang, secretary of the Party Committee, chairman and general manager of Xijiu Group, and Cai Banghong, president of the Guizhou Food Industry Association, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Wang Zun, vice president of the China Food Industry Association, Wan Bo, member of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of Moutai Group, Tu Huabin, member of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of Moutai Group, Lv Yunhuai, a well-known domestic liquor expert and president of Zunyi Wine Industry Association, Luo Jianjun, deputy director of the Guizhou Vocational Skills Certification and Assessment Guidance Center, Qiu Shuyi, former dean and doctoral supervisor of the School of Brewing and Food Engineering of Guizhou University, Meng Wangni, chief engineer of Guizhou Product Quality Inspection and Testing Institute, Tian Zhiqiang, former vice president and chief engineer of Guizhou Food Inspection and Testing Institute, Yang Shiyao, executive deputy secretary-general of Guizhou Food Industry Association, and other leaders and guests attended.

Wang Diqiang's speech

On behalf of Xijiu Group, Wang Diqiang warmly welcomed the leaders, guests, expert judges and participating wine tasters who came from afar, and expressed his sincere gratitude to the staff who carefully prepared this competition. He said that this competition is a vivid practice of vigorously promoting the spirit of model workers, the spirit of labor, and the spirit of craftsmanship. It is of great significance to stimulate the enthusiasm of practitioners in the liquor industry to learn and promote the social trend of valuable skills, glorious labor, and great creation. Xijiu will organize the competition in strict accordance with the competition rules and standards, and make every effort to contribute to the cultivation and progress of skilled talents in the liquor industry, so that the contestants can fully demonstrate their professional skills and personal style. I hope that through this competition, we can work together more closely with brother wine companies to inject momentum into the prosperity and development of the liquor industry in Guizhou and even the whole country.

Speech by Cai Banghong

On behalf of the Guizhou Food Industry Association, Cai Banghong warmly welcomed the contestants and expressed his sincere gratitude to the leaders and guests who attended the opening ceremony and the strong support of Xijiu Group. He said that this competition aims to build a professional, fair and open competition platform for talent training and comprehensively promote technological progress in the brewing industry. This is not only a vivid test of the contestants' skill level, but also an effective promotion of the development of the industry. Contestants should strictly abide by the rules of the competition, give full play to their talents and wisdom, and show the highest professional level and professional ethics in the competition. Referees should judge impartially, and staff should serve responsibly to provide strong guarantees for the fairness, justice and openness of the competition. Relevant enterprises should take this competition as an opportunity to gather a strong force to promote the high-quality development of the brewing industry, fully demonstrate the quality charm and cultural connotation of Chinese liquor, and make new contributions to the continuous promotion of the inheritance and development of Chinese liquor culture.

Opening ceremony

The competition is under the supervision of the China Food Industry Association and the Guizhou Vocational Skills Appraisal and Evaluation Guidance Center, the Guizhou Food Industry Association is the hosting entity, Xijiu Group is the main implementer, while Xijiu Co., Ltd. serves as a sponsor. There are two parts to the competition which are the theoretical examinations and the practice sessions. The examinations include topics such as distinguishing the quality and aroma of different liquors. 150 contestants from such esteemed Liquor organizations, top liquor manufacturers, and liquor-related universities in Guizhou Province participate in one stage.

Competition site

At the competition site, the contestants held their breath and used their sensitive senses and professional tasting skills to carefully evaluate and analyze the test wine samples. In observing the color, smelling the wine, and tasting the wine, they competed with "tongue skills" and comprehended the aesthetics of liquor, fully demonstrating the ingenuity of the new era sommeliers.

Competition site

It is reported that the top 28 winners of this competition will be recommended to participate in the "2024 National Industry Vocational Skills Competition-National Sommelier (Liquor) Competition Finals" jointly sponsored by the China Food Industry Association and the China Employment Training Technical Guidance Center. The outstanding contestants in the final will be awarded the title of "National Technical Expert", and the outstanding contestants will be awarded the title of "National Food Industry Technical Expert" and the 10th National Liquor Judge of the China Food Industry Association.

The organizers, organizers, co-organizers and persons in charge of the competition, as well as the participating expert judges, referees, and contestants participated in the event.