The Strasbourgeois Christophe Meyer has just been crowned in Germany “best sommelier of the year 2022” by the prestigious gastronomic guide Gault et Millau. For 15 years, the restaurant Le Dollenberg has trusted him to match the dishes of its restaurant in Bad Peterstal-Griesbach.
A consecration. Recognition of work done. And even a very nice birthday present. Barely two days after celebrating his 45th birthday, Christophe Meyer was named “best sommelier of the year” in June 2022 by the German Gault et Millau.
Two weeks have passed since the ceremony at the Rutz restaurant in Berlin (Three Michelin stars) and the passionate sommelier of the Dollenberg in Bad Peterstal-Griesbach still feels the emotion he had when he received the award: “When the editor-in-chief personally invites you to the publication celebration, that’s a good sign.” remembers the lucky winner.
If he had no certainty about receiving a distinction, he understood that something was going on when he saw on the spot that the guests were handpicked: “And when I realized that I was the only sommelier, I said to myself if there is only one, there is something.”he smiles.
Christophe Meyer is not at his first prize. In 2015, the Schlemmer Atlas (German restaurant ranking guide) already named him the best sommelier of the year. Five years later, the European magazine Vinum associates his name with the “best wine list in Germany”.
Gault et Millau rewards the quality of service, dedication and finesse of what the sommelier transmits to customers. Characteristics that fit perfectly with Christophe Meyer. The professional has been sharing his passion for wine with Dollenberg customers since 2006.
He particularly likes to provide various details about the wine to his interlocutors: “It is rare that customers have information. I try to provide explanations in my food and wine arrangements. I like people to feel enriched leaving the table“he testifies.
His goal, to make people happy: “My greatest reward is to see people’s eyes sparkle. My goal, at the end of the meal, is that they feel happy, it’s very rewarding“.
Christophe Meyer also impresses with the originality of origin of the wines he offers. Tahiti, China, Syria… A third of its menu is devoted to wines from around the world (the remaining two thirds being divided between German and French wines).
Because the sommelier is an explorer at heart, who intends to make his customers travel, and surprise them. Alongside a classic selection, it “try to bring very very exotic wines, which we do not expect“. Like this wine from Georgia, which will be suggested with the summer menu: “You should know that Georgia is the country with the oldest history in the world with wine, there are traces of more than 8000 years ago.“ he specifies.
A living bible this Christophe Meyer! A wine culture that he maintains on a daily basis: “Every evening, I force myself to read fifteen minutes of the wine encyclopedia.“ A tenacity and a culture that he owes only to himself.
The first time I tasted wine, I said: never again!
The man does not hide his complicated childhood. Placed at the DDASS at the age of 11, he decided to make this ordeal a driving force to move forward in life. First of all to achieve professional success. Wine was not a vocation from the start: “The first time I tasted wine, it was table wine, and I said: never again!“
At 16, he began studying cooking (like his mother), and it was during his internships (in Beaune, Saint-Emilion) that he detected an appetite for the world of wine: “As soon as we talked about wine, I had a thousand questions“ he remembers. The young Christophe then went to the hotel school in Illkirch, where he specialized in sommellerie.
All the professionals he meets predict a great career in the field. In post in the early 2000s in the Hautes-Alpes, he met the one who would become his wife, a German from Achern, a few kilometers from Strasbourg. Together, they decide to return to settle in Germany.
Thus in 2006, he applied to Dollenberg, where he was immediately hired, with great freedom of choice. Because an essential part of Christophe Meyer’s job is to put together his establishment’s wine list. To date, it has more than 600 references.
Great wines are like a Christmas present for me
Christopher MeyerBest sommelier of the year 2022 in Germany
The sommelier knows each of his wines, its character, its history. As soon as they were delivered to the Dollenberg, he was tempted to compare them even to his children: They arrive very small, I wait for them to grow up before offering them. “A process with a very variable duration: “In general, I leave them a week of rest, because the wines do not like to travel too much.“
Then begins breeding: “Bordeaux wines, I give them ten years before considering putting them on the map. I even have a special cellar for wines that need to be aged longer.“ A cellar out of sight of the sommelier: “You know, great wines are like a Christmas present for me. So if you have them all the time in front of you… It would be tempting to open them.“
The Strasbourgeois considers this distinction of best sommelier as a crowning achievement: “When you start out in the business, you see all these big names in the Gault et Millau, you think maybe one day while working, you can be there.“ This is done for Christophe Meyer who adds “today i realized all my dreams. Get out of it, have a family life, do my job with passion.“ And to conclude:I am a fulfilled man“.
This Friday, July 7, the Dollenberg reopened after the traditional break. Customers will thus discover its new menu, which will be offered for the next two months.
