November 19th 2008 - The GAULT MILLAU testing team awarded Hagen Hoppenstedt, Chief Sommelier and Manager of the Restaurant Haerlin in the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Sommelier of the Year.

Extract from the laudation: "Without big speeches he transmits his passion for wine to his guests responding to their preferences. Full of verve, he recommends great red wines from all over the world, and over and over Riesling. His extensive wine list, reaching back to 1900, keeps many lucky finds ready for the enthusiasts, and plenty bargains for the normal budget." Since 2004 Hagen Hoppenstedt offers in the gourmet restaurant Haerlin the perfect wine to each dish inspiring his guests day after day with traditional, new and exceptionally good wines from "his wine cellar". The treasures that lie in the wine cellar of the renowned hotel clearly bear the signature of the 37-year old. All wines waiting for his guests' favor have been personally chosen and found good by Hoppenstedt.

Hoppenstedt is a calm all-round genius. Hoppenstedt restocked his wine stock with great intuition by a couple of handpicked rarities. Since then, the wine cellar of the Vier Jahreszeiten reserves wines to the amount of half a million euro.

His exquisite Rare Wine Events are fully booked - before the ink in the reservation book dries. Within the scope of this events in 2008, Hagen Hoppenstedt welcomed, amongst others, the vintners Marchese Frescobaldi and Armin Diel and as well the owner of the Il Caberlot House, Mrs. Martina Rogosky.

For 2009, Hagen Hoppenstedt has already achieved his personal highlight. Baron Eric de Rothschild, who very rarely appears in public, has already personally assured his participation at Hoppenstedt's Rare Wine Event in May 2009.

Especially linked in friendship is Hoppenstedt with the winery Georg Breuer in Rüdesheim at the Rhine. Last year, Hoppenstedt created together with Theresa Breuer the first own house white for the "Jahreszeiten Cuvée 2006".

The current "Jahreszeiten Cuvée 2007" was presented in October. Hoppenstedt and the exceptional vintner August Kesseler are joined in friendship and professional enthusiasm. Hoppenstedt created with August Kesseler already the second vintage of the excellent Pinot Noir "Jahreszeiten Cuvée".

The restaurant guests literally feel this great variety every evening. Hoppenstedt delights his guests with well apportioned recommendations, and knows in which cases the bigger is not always better or vice versa.

Ingo C. Peters, Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Managing Director, all employees, especially the team around Hagen Hoppenestedt, and Starred Chef de Cuisine Christoph Rüffer are very proud of "their Sommelier of the Year 2009".