the.com/sommeliers
professional noses who swirl, sniff, and judge your grape juice for a living.
means a trained wine expert who curates, serves, and pairs wine, often certified through brutal blind-tasting exams.
from from old french sommelier, a court official who managed baggage and provisions; the wine-specific meaning solidified in 19th-century france as fine dining formalized service roles.
master examunder 300 people have passed the master sommelier test
blind tastingcan identify grape, region, and vintage by smell alone
failure ratemaster sommelier exam fails roughly 90 percent of candidates
tip originthe word sommelier once meant royal pack-animal driver
for instance
court of master sommeliers — founded 1977 in london, gatekeeps the toughest wine exam
somm documentary — 2012 film on four sommeliers cramming for the master exam
aldo sohm — le bernardin's wine director, james beard award winner