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After revelations of cheating the country's most prestigious wine certification body to invalidate the 2018 master sommeliers tasting exams, the somms are pushing back.
In case you missed it, on Tuesday, the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, invalidated the master sommelier awarded titles to 2018's batch of newly passed sommeliers. The success of a master sommelier (who was also an examiner) leaked answers to an unnamed candidate who was taking the test; the board of the 23rd master sommeliers. In the wake of the discovery, the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, is creating opportunities for candidates to retake the portion of the exam called into question.
Nineteen of the 23 candidates whose titles were stripped away by the Chicago Tribune.
"As your colleagues and as members of the Court of Master Sommeliers, we feel the decision reached by the Board of Directors of the Court of Master Sommeliers (the" Board ") was done in haste and did not follow suit status of the Class of 2018, as outlined by the Bylaws of the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, "the letter reads in part.
Tellingly, the 19 sommeliers signed the letters with the abbreviation for master sommeliers, "MS."
The letter of the 19 sommeliers specifically named a board member of the Court of Justice, "The Code of Ethics and Conduct set forth by the Court", "But stopped short of accusing the person of the leaking information. candidates. Kathleen Lewis and Chairman Devon Broglie, President of the Board of Directors.
In a separate email titled "Fellow Masters – A Call to Action" appealing to Court members, the sommeliers write: "Can we all be certain that this breach has not happened before with this individual? We ask that a thorough investigation be made of those who have passed fairly, and who have been unjustly grouped under the umbrella of those who have compromised the examination. "
The Court has been in charge of this person's participation.
The candidates also seemingly closed ranks. Posts Tagged 'Chicago-area candidate' Jill Zimorski remains unanswered, and candidate Dan Pilkey refused to offer comment to the Tribune. (Both Pilkey and Zimorski are among the sommeliers listed on the letter.) The letter states, "Many of us have already incurred the public spattering of our names across the press, associated with words like" scandal, "" cheating "and "Shame," quoting previous reporting by the Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and Daily Beast.)
The letter addresses what is in the industry of the unfairness of invalidating the whole Class of 2018's tasting portion of the notoriously difficult exam; it also questions the court's retesting protocol, made public Wednesday.
The board's unanimous decision includes: refunding all fees collected for the tasting portion of the 2018 Master Sommelier Diploma Exam; creating two retesting opportunities, as well as retesting during 2019's regularly scheduled examination program; waiving associated exam fees; and offering assistance to retest. (The retest is available to all 54 candidates who took the tasting portion of the exam, including the 23 affected sommelier candidates who ostensibly passed.)
For their part, the affected summits wrote, "to retest the 54 candidates as a whole, effectively exonerates the guilty parties, and at the very least rewards their lack of moral courage. … The onus lies with the Board to conduct a full investigation of the cheating and outcome of apology clearing those not involved in the claims, fully reinstating their status as Master Sommeliers. "
The Master Sommelier is divided into three parts: theory, practical service and tasting. Books like "Cork Dork" by Bianca Bosker and films like "Somm" have highlighted the notoriously difficult examination, which can take years to complete. The tasting portion, alone, requires a selection of six wines and, in 25 minutes, "identify, where appropriate, grape varieties, country of origin, district and appellation of origin, and vintages of the tasted wines."
Each portion of the test costs $ 995 ($ 1,775 if a candidate takes both the practical and the tasting at the same time), not to mention the cost of buying wine to taste and practice. Sommeliers create tasting groups not only for the fellowship that comes with studying, but also to mitigate many of these costs and to try as many wines as possible during tasting sessions.
"Though I stand with the court's decisions, I know they did not come to their findings lightly," said Alpana Singh, a master sommelier and the owner of Terra & Vine Restaurant in Evanston. "I also know what the sommeliers feel – they're entitled to rage, confusion, all of it right now. I personally still have panic attacks and dreams, thinking about my own test. At the end of the day, the Court is a brother- and sisterhood of professionals, and they're experiencing it all together. "
Singh said the events of this week are especially "heavy, because it's unprecedented. I've been a master sommelier since 2003 and have been a short time since 1995 – this is the first time I've heard you at this level. "
"I was in the boardroom, it was done with a heavy heart."
Twitter @ joeybear85
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