Mohamed Benabdallah, head sommelier and restaurant manager at Asador Etxebarri in Spain, shares his finest wine wisdom on why a rule-breaking white Burgundy could get you out of trouble and how a silky pinot noir might win over your worst enemy.
It was just a summer job in southern Spain. He thought he'd be waiting tables, using his language skills to serve foreigners. Instead, he was charged with helping the sommelier. That summer, many years ago, defined Mohamed Benabdallah. In June 2025, he won the World's Best Sommelier Award, as part of The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
"It was challenging, I didn't know anything, I wasn't very confident, but with time, I learned. It helps to meet people, listen to them and never make assumptions. It got me where I am," says Algerian-born, Swiss-raised Benabdallah.
Benabdallah says travel, not making assumptions and "drinking everything" are all important aspects of becoming a world-class sommelier
He has learned plenty and aced some wine courses since. "But the most important thing is to travel, visit winemakers, have a relationship with them and try a lot of wines. I drink everything, it's part of my job," he assures.
Benabdallah traded the south for the north, going from Quique Dacosta in Denia to Mugaritz in the Basque countryside, where he spent six formative years, earning the title of head sommelier while simultaneously taking on the role of maître d'. "It's like a symphony," he claims of leading the front of house team. "You can have a very good violinist or pianist, but you have to have a conductor to organise everything. At some point during service, both waiters and sommeliers will need help."
From Murgaritz to Asador Etxebarri
In 2017, he packed up his expertise and moved to another Basque legend, Asador Etxebarri – No.2 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 – chef Bittor Arguinzoniz's tabernacle of deceptively humble dining and a hymn to divine, fire-cooked fare. With a general manager title, Benabdallah also curates the transcendent wine selection of more than 400 bottles.
"Coming from Mugaritz, where the food is so conceptual and technical, I initially thought it would be boring as Etxebarri's food seems so simple. I thought I'd serve the same thing with that same beef chop every day. But it isn't, because 70 per cent of our guests are regulars who come three times a year, it becomes a fun challenge to find them new pairings. These people can afford to travel; they have money, so rather than giving them the most expensive bottle, I surprise them with something impossible to get. That's a real luxury today," he says.
Asador Etxebarri is set in a peaceful Basque village surrounded by mountains and lush greenery
"The secret to cooking with fire is salt; it brings out flavour, and that makes you want to drink more," he continues. "But your body has a limit; we have to make sure people don't drink too much and manage that perfectly with the food."
The World's Best Sommelier 2025
Being voted The World's Best Sommelier 2025 didn't immediately sink in. "It took a few days, I wasn't expecting it, but I started to realise it when I walked down the street and people in the village congratulated me. It's a recognition of my job, but Quique Dacosta, Mugaritz, my colleagues and guests are also really part of this," he says.
Once the accolade did sink in, Benabdallah wasted no time sharing a few bottles. "There were three of us. We drank a Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling GT, because the winemaker, Klaus-Peter, and his wife, Julia, are amazing people, and they are one of the world's best riesling producers.
"We had a Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux Grand Cru, a beautiful wine, as silky as you can imagine, made by a mother and her two daughters. Once you meet them, you can't stop liking them. They recently opened a beautiful hotel at the domaine, La Maison de Jacqueline.
The World's Best Sommelier Award is voted for by the Academy, formed of 1,120 independent restaurant industry experts and well-travelled gourmets from across the world
"After that, we drank a Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco, a wine I never thought I'd try, assuming it was just another normal wine. But the first time I did, I was blown away. I'm addicted to this wine; it's the Premier League, and I can't stop thinking about how great it is.
"Lastly, we opened a Vega Sicilia Unico 1966, because the owner, Don Pablo Álvarez, is a gentleman; he shows the maximum respect for our guests, even hand-delivering bottles from his cellar."
50 Best asked Benabdallah for wine recommendations for some other specific circumstances. Because who doesn't want to know what the world's best somm would pour outside Asador Etxebarri?
What wine would you bring to a football game?
Antoine Jobard Bourgogne Blanc
"It's crisp and very nice, you can easily drink two bottles. Never bring just one bottle to a football game; there's always going to be five or six friends, and everyone's going to get excited and need wine. It's a crowd-pleaser, which is good because you might not know everyone's wine preference. And because it's a Burgundy, you need to open it and give it a moment to express itself, which you've got time for at a game."
A crowd-pleasing white Burgundy is Benabdallah's pick for an energy-filled football game
What do you drink like nobody's watching?
Domaine Nicolas Faure Bourgogne Aligoté La Corvée de Bully
"An aligoté but with a lot of depth. It makes me think about how hard Nicolas Faure [the producer] worked to get here; he has the equivalent of a Harvard PhD in working the vineyards. This is the only wine I drink a whole bottle of when I go to Burgundy, always in the same restaurant. It's a guilty pleasure wine because you can't stop drinking it, and it's in high demand. I'm so lucky to be able to drink a whole bottle of this."
What wine would you bribe a police officer with if you got caught speeding?
Domaine Guilbert-Gillet Savigny-lès-Beaune
"A red Côte de Beaune that the police will be so impressed with, because they won't ever have heard of it. The winemaker, Benjamin Guilbert, is very young and talented, always looking to improve and willing to admit to himself that he might not have liked the previous vintage, even if you and I enjoyed it. The region is not very famous or pretentious, but Benjamin's wines are in high demand because they have character; people collect them. You'll never be disappointed with this wine; it's made with so much care, and the quality is always high."
What wine would you recommend to your worst enemy?
Domaine Duroché Lavaux St Jacques
"Pierre Duroché is the fifth-generation winemaker, and he's changed the winery completely. He makes this pinot noir that is so silky, with almost no tannins, no oak; it's floral, like a rose petal wine. I think it could seduce any enemy to become a friend. If you drink it with an enemy, something good should come out of it."
Benabdallah's recommendation for turning around a worst enemy is a silky Burgundian pinot noir
What wine would you pour on a third date?
William Kelley Bourgogne Aligoté
"William Kelley is the editor in chief of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, but he also makes sublime wines. It's always nice to have an outsider do something like this. His aligoté has an extravagant, very expressive nose, yet the palate is lean, silky and elegant. For a date that would be nice, because you have both sides. It's a beautiful, delicate wine that will surely win you a fourth date."
What wine would console you if you broke an invaluable family heirloom?
Lamy-Caillat Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets
"Because the guy who makes this wine, Sébastien Caillat, really breaks all the rules in Burgundy, if you compare how he runs the family winery versus his own winery. Some of his wines can cost $1,000 on the market, but he sells them to restaurants for $80. He's a very shy, very humble man; I love him for his modesty. When you shake his hands, you can feel that he's a true artisan. He and his wife avoid the noise in the wine business; they just talk about how they work in the vineyard. It's amazing."
What bottle would you hope washed up on shore if you were stranded on a deserted island?
Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot Les Jachées, any vintage
"It's perfect for a lifetime, a low-alcohol pinot noir from Burgundy, one of the most sought-after wines. It dances on your palate. And if you just drink one glass, you want another, and another. Jean-Yves Bizot [the producer] is very special, he really cares about what he does, every day, every vintage, all year, he takes a lot of risks. And it's nice to be with this sort of person, no?"
Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot's low-alcohol Les Jachées is Benabdallah's desert island wine
What's the perfect wine for a rainy Sunday afternoon?
Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet Fixin
"I love Amélie Berthaut's wine. Fixin is a tiny area; it almost doesn't exist. No one drinks Fixin, so when you say Fixin, you think of Amélie, because what she makes is world-class. She's a woman who has proved that with passion, you can create miracles. I'm sure there are other producers in Fixin, but she's the ambassador. On a rainy day, you need a pinot noir like this, something a bit melancholy."
What would you sip on a long-haul first-class flight?
Azienda Agricola Philine Isabelle Preda Barolo
"I'm in love with Philine Isabelle. She's got a lovely, lovely smile; she's German and has a lot of character. She makes next-level wines. She went to Italy and started producing wines in a small vineyard, which takes guts in an established patriarchy. But surprisingly, they accepted her. From the start, very few people were making wines on her level. Now the quality is unbelievably good. It has a palate that can be very big, but it has a softness. It's interesting."
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