Emma Ziemann

I have worked in restaurants since my teenage years, but I fell for wine when, just for fun, I signed up for a wine knowledge course at the University of Gothenburg. One course became a degree in Restaurant Management with a focus on beverages; I set my student loan aside and invested in my sommelier education through Gustibus in Gothenburg in 2013–14, and also completed WSET 3. During that period I was introduced to competing in sommellerie; I took part in the beginner competition Freestyle Sommelier and my first Swedish Championship before I was even fully qualified. And I got hungry for more!

Today I am one of Sweden’s most accomplished competitive sommeliers, with wins including the Lily Bollinger Award – Best Female Sommelier of the Year, Waiter of the Year, and three victories in the Swedish Sommelier Championship. I have placed on the podium at the Nordic Sommelier Championships four times and also came second in the Gaggenau Sommelier Award in Beijing. I am still active in competition and am a member of the Swedish national sommelier team Swesomm, representing Sweden at the European Championships and the upcoming World Championships in Lisbon in 2026. I was also awarded my own star as Nordic Sommelier of the Year in the Michelin Guide 2023.

Professionally, I have worked as a sommelier for more than 10 years at Michelin-starred restaurants such as Upper House, Thörnströms Kök, and most recently I built and was responsible for the beverage program at Äng. Before that, I worked across most types of restaurants, including during the pandemic when I launched a wine bar and built its beverage program. I have traveled a lot, and many of the wines I love today have personal ties for me—either because I have visited the wineries or met the winemakers. I hope to continue like that; curiosity is what drives my style as a sommelier!

Today I work with lectures, training, wine tastings, and during the summer I run

the pop-up restaurant Dinner at the Shipyard on Marstrand.