Best sommelier in Curitiba in 2023: meet Vinícius Chupil

From cumim at 14 years old in a restaurant in Ponta Grossa, in Campos Gerais, to one of the most awarded sommeliers in Curitiba. The life of José Vinícius Chupil, best sommelier in Curitiba in 2023, is made up of learning and teachings. As in a virtuous cycle, the partner of the Duq Gastronomy – nominated for the 2023 Bom Gourmet Award in the Restaurant category and champion in the Wine List category – understands that transferring knowledge is as important as acquiring it.

Professor of two subjects at the European Center (where he studied) – Dessert and fortified wines and Wine Service –, Vinícius sees that his role is also to transmit wine culture. “Always teach. And when I teach, I learn too. And this is something that makes me happy, makes me fulfilled”, explains the professional nominated by the Bom Gourmet Committee, stage of the Bom Gourmet Award, as the best sommelier of 2023.

In his journey from being a young boy in Ponta Grossa to running one of the newest and trendiest restaurants in Curitiba, the sommelier saw a lot of things that added to his profession. He saw, for example, the profile of the wine-consuming public change over the years. If two decades ago, for example, the traditional wine customer was someone older, who in a ceremonial way sought a certain sophistication in the drink that spans the history of humanity, today there are young, laid-back people who seek to understand wine and experiment with new styles. , vintages and regions for the pleasure that wine provides.

“Today I see young people who taste wines, like to pair wines, are curious, read, ask questions, exchange ideas about regions, vintages, and that’s really cool. I see this at Duq, a public that consumes wine in a distracted way, having fun”, she celebrates. For him, it is important to debunk some myths that attribute a certain aristocratic air to wine. And one of the ways to do this is to make knowledge and appreciation lighter.

Another myth that Chupil fights to dispel is that good wine is necessarily expensive. In his research, he finds regions that have not yet been explored and families that have been producing good products for generations without critical recognition. By including them in his menus, he also catches the eye of producers and importers, in addition, of course, to allowing consumers to understand that it is possible to taste good labels at economical price ranges.

Awards and stories from the best sommelier in Curitiba

At the now-defunct Edivino restaurant, where he worked, he helped win the award for best wine cellar twice. At La Varenne, she began work on creating a menu and won three consecutive times as best wine cellar. Upon leaving the house, he began, with chef Felipe Miyake and Alexandre Abage, investing partner and owner of the property, the planning that, after three years of studies and feasibility, would generate Duq Gastronomia, opened in March 2023.

But it was at Edivino that he had a unique experience. It was there that the sommelier pioneered the use of glasses with specific anatomies for each type of wine. There was a customer who, over the course of two years, always ordered the same wine, served by Vinicius in a Pinot Noir glass, from the Austrian brand Riedel. One day he told Vinícius that, although he drank the same wine in other places, it was there that it seemed tastier. It was then that the sommelier revealed his secrets. One was, of course, the use of a specific cup; the other was to place the wine in ice water for a minute after removing it from the cellar. According to the sommelier, this allows the drink to stay at the exact temperature throughout the dinner.

“I then saw that my service made sense. The person didn’t know why, but the wine in that place was better. [A resposta] it was a combination of factors: specific glass and correct temperature, one of the most important things about wine.”

Service

WHERE: Duq Gastronomia – Alameda Dr. Carlos de Carvalho, 360 – Centro
PHONE / WHATSAPP: (41) 98854-4751
SERVICE: Tuesday to Thursday, from 7pm to 11pm; Friday and Saturday, from 7pm to midnight.
@duqgastronomia