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Hundreds upon hundreds of hours going for the Master Sommelier exam. It is unquestionably the toughest test of wine knowledge that can be put through – and to pass it, which, for most, requires multiple attempts, leaves one equal parts exhilarated and exhausted.
Master Sommelier, MS Gold, status, achieved by only 273 applicants world-wide since the first exam was given in 1969, comes with a small oval, non-ostentatious lapel pin rimmed in red with the head of Bacchus in the center. No more prized a possession exists for those who have earned the right to wear it.
"Even when you've passed," said David Keck, one of Houston's resident master sommeliers, "a nightmare we are waking up in a cold sweat that someone has taken our pin away."
But, sadly, that's exactly what happened for Pappas Bros. Steakhouse wine director Steven McDonald, who had apparently become Houston's fifth MS last month in St. Louis. He'd been told he had the most challenging part of the three-part exam, blind tasting. That means McDonald's had correctly identified six wines to their grapes, they were picked, and he was so inside of the 25-minute time limit.
This week, however, the President of the Board of Directors, Chairman Devon Broglie – as did 22 of the 23 other presumptive Masters from the country, constituting the largest class ever – informing him that the results would be invalidated. Someone, claimed to be one of the examiners and, therefore, an MS, said Broglie, who is also the Austin-based global wine buyer for Whole Foods Market. .
"I can not imagine what Steven's feeling," said Guy Stout, Director of Beverage Education for Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits in Texas. He, too, endured multiple stumbles of his own before becoming a MS in 2005.
"I keep thinking back to where we are hung up after the announcement (in September)," he said. "This is sad."
McDonald has sat six times in all for the various parts of the grueling test, which also requires the applicants to show their wine-service skills and expound upon wine theory in an oral exam. He only needed to get through tasting in St. Louis to be done. When he says, "I feel like I'm floating."
Now, he's facing a seventh go-round.
"It's shocking and devastating," McDonald said. "There's nothing else for me to say. It's hard to accept, but I'll be OK. (Pappas Bros.) is 100 percent behind me. "
Just one of the 24 presumptive new sommeliers announced in St. Louis, Morgan Harris from San Francisco, will be keeping his pin. He becomes the 274th MS because he had passed tasting at a previous sitting and was there to be put through the service.
Houston, DC Jack Mason and Barbara Werley, wine director at the Pappas Steakhouse in Dallas. The city's other is Keith Goldston, who has been here for a few years now, and has been in the restaurant for a few years now. The Post Oak Hotel complex near the Galleria. According to a 2017 GuildSomm survey, a Master Sommelier earns an average salary of $ 164,000 per year, while an Advanced Sommelier earns an average of $ 87,000.
A press release from the CMS states that it has been unanimously voted to invalidate the results of the 2018 Master Sommelier Diploma Examination for all candidates, "because of" clear evidence "that a Master had breached the confidentiality of the wines presented for tasting.
"I'm furious," Stout said. "It's unfathomable to me that they would want to do anything but their best work, that they could have a little look for what the organization represents, for what being an MS means. We can not stand for this behavior. How could anybody be so stupid and so disrespectful? "
Keck, currently in the process of opening new windows in Montrose under the Goodnight Hospitality banner, achieved his MS status in 2016. Like Stout, he said he could not offer information on what happened to such a huge mess, "and would not be speculate on the identity of the person or persons involved.
"But what I'm saying is that this examination is the most part of our organization," Keck said. "It's the No. 1 thing that we hang our honor and our integrity on. If you're sitting the exams, you're putting your faith in the organization to do the right thing. You're subscribing to the system, so compromising the outcome in any way is a huge betrayal to all of our colleagues. The darkest part of hell is reserved for betrayers. "
Stout suggests he has "enough faith in the guys I've helped Steven, what if I asked them, 'Were you aware of anything?' And if they said no, then I'd say, 'Here's your pin.' "
But Keck said that it is not that simple, and that it is the only way to achieve that. He'd been up "last night talking to Steven," trying to help him get his arms around the distressing development.
There's some good news, though. The Court is in the process of paying the price, waive the $ 995 test fee and offer assistance with travel expenses. McDonald's called that "only fair."
"I have full faith in Devon and full faith in our board," Keck said. "I do not envy him right now in his first year as chairman, but he's a man of extreme moral rectitude. We're going to do the best thing for the most possible people. "
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