WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2013

WHITLEY ON WINE
SOMM:
THE MOVIE
A documentary by Jason Wise follows four
young sommeliers as they prepare for the
Master Sommelier (MS) exam.
By ROBERT WHITLEY
A
For most of my professional career, the
sommelier has been a relic of the past,
a symbol of that forgotten time when
only the wealthy ordered fine wine off a
restaurant wine list and only the stuffiest,
most image-conscious restaurants
found it
n e c e s s a r y
to employ a certified wine professional
to cater to their uppercrust
clientele. restaurant with
a sommelier was considered by
most casual wine drinkers to be
wine snobbery on steroids.
The world has changed, and so
has the professional sommelier.
To some extent much of the
credit for the change goes to the
Court of Master Sommeliers,
which trains, tests and certifies
sommeliers in four distinct levels
of expertise and maintains
the professional standards that
have shaped the world of the modern sommelier.
"Somm," the movie, is a documentary by Jason Wise that
follows four young sommeliers as they prepare for the Master
Sommelier (MS) exam. "Somm" is now showing in theaters
around the country and also is available at the iTunes
store.
If you have the vaguest interest in wine and dine out with
any frequency, you need to see this film. Whatever you think
you know, or could possibly imagine, about the world of the
professional sommelier, do yourself a favor and check your
assumptions at the door. The subjects of the documentary
— Ian, Justin, Brian and JLynn — are ordinary guys with one
exception: All four have a passion for wine that has morphed
into obsession, which in turn has inspired their quest to be
the best they can be at their chosen profession.
Of the four levels of expertise certified by the Court of Master
Sommeliers — Level 1, Certified,
Advanced and Master —
the Master level is the highest
and most difficult to achieve.
Of those who take the Master
Somm exam, only 3 percent
pass. There are but 200 or
so master sommeliers in the
world.
The preparation is demanding,
time consuming, and mentally
and physically grueling. Most
sommeliers studying for the
Master exam do so in teams,
constantly challenging each
other to improve their knowledge
of the subject, their tasting
skills and their service skills under extreme pressure.
Many brilliant sommeliers never pass the Master exam despite
multiple attempts. It's that hard.
Wise in his documentary follows one such study group. The
film was three years in the making and made a huge splash at
the Napa Valley Film Festival earlier this year. The four characters
are compelling at a very basic human level, while resisting
the urge to give in to a fear of failure as they immerse
themselves in what to many might seem to be an impossible
dream. Master Sommelier Fred Dame, a legendary sommelier
and one of the testers at the Master exam, is brilliant
simply being himself.
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