Stefanie Hehn, Head Sommelier at The Fontenay in Hamburg and a Maître Sommelier member of the Chaîne in Germany, has successfully passed all the examinations with the Court of Master Sommeliers meaning that she can now use the prestigious title “Master Sommelier”. The final testing was held on October 31st at the InterContinental “O2” Hotel on the Greenwich prime meridian in London.

She said, “I'm really excited about this very special award and I’m also very proud and relieved to have passed. With a success rate of just four percent, it is one of the most demanding international tests in the industry.”

Worldwide, only 267 people have achieved this title in 50 years. This means that she can use the initials “MS” or the full title “Master Sommelier” after her name. She is now part of the exclusive mentoring program of the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe.

Stefanie began her career in 2005 with a hotel management apprenticeship at the Laudensacks Parkhotel in Bad Kissingen. After restaurant positions at Speisemeisterei in Stuttgart and Chezann in Warnemünde, she was able to gain her first experience as a Sommelier at Villa Rothschild in Königstein.

During this time, in 2009 she passed her examination as a Certified Sommelier with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Stefanie in fact started her first position as a Sommelier in 2008 at Burg Schwarzenstein in Geisenheim.

In 2010 she was drawn to Hamburg where she worked for two years as a Sommelier in the Michelin 2-star Jacobs Restaurant in the 5-star Hotel Louis C. Jacob. Acquiring greater experience with every move, in 2012 she joined the team at the Michelin 3-star Restaurant Überfahrt in the Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt on Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria.

Five years later, since 2017 Stefanie has been responsible for all wine matters at The Fontenay in Hamburg - her “love at first sight city”. The Gault&Millau restaurant guide named her Sommelier of the Year in 2019!

Naturally, the Bailliage of Germany is very proud to have Maître Sommelier Stefanie Hehn as another lady member who has achieved the accolade of Master Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. She joins Helga Schroeder who graduated in 2019.

Karin Deters
Chargée de Presse

Ed. Also successful this year in achieving the Master Sommelier accolade this year was Matteo Montone, Winner of the Chaîne’s International Jeunes Sommeliers Competition in 2019, and Tamás Czinki. Both Matteo and Tamás are Maître Sommelier members of the Confrérie making the three members of the Court’s “Class of 2020” entirely a Chaîne affair!!