Candy Sangare, a 46-year-old former Air France flight attendant turned entrepreneur, is breaking new ground in the French wine-tasting community as she prepares to compete in the upcoming world sommelier championships. This summer, Sangare and her teammate Pauline Monclus, a professional sommelier, made history by becoming the first black woman and first women ever to win the French national blind wine-tasting championship, an annual event organized by La Revue du vin de France (RVF).
The competition, widely respected within the wine industry, was previously dominated by middle-aged white men, making their victory a notable departure from tradition. RVF described their success as a “thunderclap” for the wine-tasting world, reflecting the rarity and impact of their achievement.
Sangare, originally from Le Mans—a region more associated with cereal farming than vineyards—acknowledges the unusual nature of her presence in the field. She recalls the surprise of other competitors during her first participation in the French national blindly judged contest, attributing their reactions to her being both a woman and black in a predominantly white and male environment. “They were looking at me because I am a woman and because I am black. Perhaps it was a shock [for them] to see a black woman interested in wine,” she said.
Building on their national success, Sangare and Monclus will soon join forces with Camille Guilbaud, also a sommelier, to represent France in the world championships slated to take place next month in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in southern France. This event will feature 40 teams challenged to identify twelve wines blindfolded, requiring them to determine key factors such as grape variety, vintage, country of origin, and appellation without any labels or additional details.
Sangare noted the role of both skill and luck in the competition. “I think everyone has a chance of winning,” she said. “There is an element of luck. If they serve wines that you happen to have tasted the previous day, you’ve obviously got a better chance.” She cited examples from past contests where participants struggled with unfamiliar wines, such as one from Moldova, while she felt more confident identifying wines from regions like Georgia.
As she trains by traveling through European vineyards to refine her palate ahead of the world event, Sangare is also drawing attention for challenging longstanding gender and racial norms within the French wine sector. Reflecting on the gender imbalance, she noted, “It’s true that there are not a lot of women. You often see vineyards named after father and son but you never see father and daughter.”
Regardless of the outcome at the world championships, Sangare’s trajectory signals a potential shift in the traditionally homogenous wine-tasting community, highlighting increasing diversity and inclusivity.