Emmanuel Cadieu

Emmanuel Cadieu is a highly qualified wine director with more than a decade of experience in top gastronomic destinations across the globe. Currently director of wine at Cheval Blanc Paris, including Plénitude (No.14, The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025), he offers an extensive list of 1,600 bottles with broad international scope, oversees a cellar of 140,000 bottles of wine and sake, supported by a team of 19 sommeliers and two cellar masters.

Born in Brittany, Cadieu initially studied economics and social sciences before turning his hand to hospitality. After training as a sommelier at the Tain l'Hermitage vineyard in the heart of the Rhône Valley, he worked at a series of highly acclaimed restaurants and hotels across the world, including Maison Lameloise in Burgundy, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and 67 Pall Mall in London and Est in Sydney before settling in Paris in 2020.

Well-recognised for his professional achievements, he has been celebrated for receiving the highest score in Asia and Oceania for the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Certificate and holds the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Award in sake. Deeply respected by fellow wine professionals, in September 2024 Cadieu was named Sommelier of the Year 2024 at the Trophées Le Chef ceremony, the only awards where members of the French gastronomy community are elected by their peers.

In 2027, he took on the role of president for the World's Best Sommeliers' Selection. Read on to discover more about the tasting from Cadieu.

Why should producers enter their wines?

"Sharing your wines with the top sommeliers from all over the world is a way to engage with them. It's a way to start a conversation, reach out to new markets and gain visibility. If I were a producer, I wouldn't hesitate. There's nothing like this in the world."

Why invite sommeliers from The 50 Best Restaurants community to create the selection?

"Sommeliers are the link between the winemaker and the final consumer. If we understand a wine, it's a fantastic way for an estate to reach out to the consumer, tell a story and make the wine memorable. It's a way to become more known and reach out to different cultures and types of cuisine and service. That's the beauty of The 50 Best Restaurants, it's not about just about fine dining. The possibilities are crazy."

Will the sommeliers taking part be able to contact producers?

"I followed up with the producers who got my attention. It's part of the constant research we are doing as sommeliers. After the tasting, we were all recommending fantastic wines, sharing the work of the producers and recommending them to our fellow sommeliers. Sommeliers are always willing to discover new wines, new perspectives and new things that can make an experience in the restaurant even more special."

Will producers be able to read the tasting notes written by the sommeliers?

"Yes. The tasting notes from the sommeliers are a valuable insight. They are in their restaurants every day, speaking with customers directly, building trust and loyalty. Customers listen to them."