Diego Tornel revalidates the title of Best Sommelier

Diego Tornel This Monday he was proclaimed winner of the IV Gran Canaria Regional Sommelier Competition I Like It, held at the CIFP Felo Monzón, thus revalidating the title obtained last year. Second place went to Nuria Spain and the third for Alfredo D´Marzi, both from Tenerife. The three will represent the Canary Islands in the next national competition of the Spanish Union of Sommeliers, which will be held in April at the Gourmets Hall of Madrid.

The contest, organized by the Association of Sumilleres de Canarias together with the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria and financed by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, is part of the program actions Gran Canaria I like it belonging to the Ministry of Economic Development, whose responsible, Minerva Alonso, He highlighted that “this contest makes visible the talent and excellence of our professionals.”, while reinforcing the connection between training and haute cuisine, contributing to the positioning of Gran Canaria as a reference in quality and food and wine culture”.

Eight contestants participated in this edition - three women and five men.- who faced a demanding day of tests. The semi-final started with a practical tasting of two wines and a gastronomic product, along with a theoretical test of 40 questions about wine and other products such as oils, infusions, coffees or spirits. From this phase the three finalists emerged who agreed to the decisive test.

The final was made up of five tests: a visual identification test; a tasting and identification of two wines - white and red- along with three products (sake, pomace aged in barrels and vermouth); detecting errors in a wine list; an ordering and pairing on a tasting menu prepared by chef Alex Santana, from the Bodega La Avenida restaurant - which even included the recommendation of a non-alcoholic wine -; y, finally, a decanting and serving test in which the contestants had to select a bottle with the Gran Canaria Designation of Origin, recommend it, open it, decant it and serve it in a limited time.

President of the Asociación de Sumilleres de Canarias, David Noel Ghosn Santana, underlined the high level of the competition and the clarity of the final result: “The level has been very high and the winner demonstrated a solid foundation in both tasting and service and theory.”. These types of competitions are essential for professionals to continue growing and for students to see how a real competition develops., like those celebrated at the national and international level”.

In addition, explained that Diego Tornel's previous victory in the national contest - where he obtained third place in 2025- granted him a direct place for the next edition, which has allowed the Canary Islands to have three representatives this year instead of two, thus expanding the presence of the archipelago in the state competition.

Diego Tornel himself was satisfied after revalidating the regional title and highlighted the importance of continuing to train and represent the Canary Islands.: “Very happy to win again and to be able to repeat in the national championship.”. Having placed third last year has allowed us to have one more place for the Canary Islands and take three sommeliers to the national competition. Continuous training is essential, not only to grow professionally, but also personally. You always have to keep learning, because believing that you already know everything is the biggest barrier to moving forward.”.

The contest also had the participation of CIFP students Felo Monzón as an audience, reinforcing the link between training and professional practice. The winner received a gift voucher 1.000 euros, an endowment that contributes to encouraging excellence and the projection of the pool of sommeliers in the Canary Islands.