Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Fabio Masi, sommelier at the Il Lago restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva has been named Italy’s best sommelier of 2009. He will participate in the Best Sommelier in the World competition in Santiago, Chile in April 2010.

The competition involved recognizing a large number of wines in blind tastings, but also naming in blind tastings 10 brandies and two coffees and recogniziing a variety of cigars. Possibly even more challenging was the service test where he was required to wait on three tables of difficult customers.

Masi, age 27 and Italian, has had a rich international history to date, working in Milan, Florence at the Enoteca Pinchiorri which is known for its cellar with 150,000 bottles, Paris at the Four Seasons Georges V, Lyons, London, New York and Geneva.