The Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes: its sommelier is now a blind tasting world champion

Camille Guilbaud, sommelier at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, is the world blind tasting champion. On Saturday 17 October 2026, in Avignon, she won the title with Candy Sangare for Team France, naming the right grape of a Madeira in the very last glass, where Japan, then in the lead, got it wrong.

Twelve wines to name without seeing the label

Run by La Revue du vin de France, the 14th World Blind Tasting Championship brought more than 200 tasters from 41 nations to Avignon. The final was decided on Saturday 17 October, after two days of rounds. Each team had to identify twelve wines served without a label, naming the grape, country, appellation and vintage, with around ten minutes per wine. From the very first glass, a 2010 Crémant de Luxembourg, France was the only team to find the right answer.

A final glass of Madeira decided everything

Going into the twelfth and final wine, Japan was ahead. In the glass was a wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira, made by the house of Blandy’s. The Japanese team answered Boal, the French duo Sercial: it was indeed a Sercial, and that last grape turned the standings around. France finished on 189 points, ahead of Japan (181) and Brazil (159). “They said Boal. We said Sercial and we won!” sums up Camille Guilbaud.

France’s fifth title, and the second in a row

France had already won in 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2025: this fifth world title is its second in a row. For the first time, Team France was an all-female duo. Camille Guilbaud and Candy Sangare, founder of Art de Vivre by Candy, had already taken the French champions title for 2025-2026.

From São Paulo to the Cap-Eden-Roc cellar

Born in the Vendée, 30-year-old Camille Guilbaud never set out to work in wine: she was training to become a vet in Brazil when Covid cut her studies short. In São Paulo, hired as a hostess at a French fine-dining restaurant, she met Candy Sangare, her future teammate.

When her parents took over a wine estate north of Bordeaux, she earned a bartending diploma and then trained as a sommelier on a work-study course. She worked at the Lalique restaurant in the Gironde and at La Dame de Pic, Anne-Sophie Pic’s restaurant, before joining the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc three years ago, with its cellar of more than 5,000 wines.

Cap-Eden-Roc reopens on 18 April 2027

The Oetker Hotels property has been closed for the winter since 18 October: the 2027 season will run from 18 April to 17 October. Guests will find Louroc, its fine-dining restaurant holding one Michelin star, the Eden-Roc restaurant, the Eden-Roc Grill, the Eden-Roc Bar, the Eden-Roc Lounge and the Dior Spa Eden-Roc. Rates for the 2027 season have not yet been published.

Before you go, read what its rules really say about photo shoots. The group is also preparing its arrival in Saint-Tropez, with the Le Mas Bellevue hotel.

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