Mia has several accomplishments to her name. She passed the Master Sommelier exam (twice) in 2018. She earned the Rudd Scholarship and the Johnston Medal by passing the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Exam in 2014 with the highest score of the year.

Mia Van de Water was named one of Food & Wine’s Sommeliers of the Year (2016). She is a restaurant industry veteran with a career spanning nearly two decades. In 2017, she joined the sommelier team at the acclaimed Eleven Madison Park, Michelin 3-Star, and 2017 World’s Best Restaurant (San Pellegrino World’s Fifty Best). She is now the Assistant General Manager at Cote Korean Steakhouse in Manhattan (Michelin 1-Star & James Beard Best New Restaurant 2018).  

Mia passed the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Exam in 2014 with the highest score of the year, earning her a Rudd Scholarship and the Johnston Medal, and passed the Master Sommelier exam (twice) in 2018. Alongside her operational experience, Mia is heavily involved in wine education, having created educational programming for the teams at both North End Grill and Eleven Madison Park, and teaching courses around the country for the Court of Master Sommeliers and Wines From Spain. Mia Van de Water MS will join the judging panel for the 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards. 

The 3rd Annual Sommeliers Choice Awards is set to take place in May 2021 in San Francisco, USA. With an aim to provide on-premise buyers and sommeliers a valuable benchmark for understanding the wines that would make a compelling addition to a wine list. Submission is now open for the 2021 Sommeliers Choice Awards. Registration ends April 20, 2021.