The master sommelier's test is tainted with cheating, leaving people "devastated"

"Devastated" is the word used by Geoff Kruth to describe the people to whom the master sommelier title was awarded last month. This title was however removed after the results of part of the exam were canceled this week.

The board of directors of the Master Sommelier's Court unanimously voted to invalidate the results of the difficult tasting segment after evidence revealed that the confidentiality of the wines had been violated during of the test process.

An anonymous master sommelier, serving as a supervisor, would have allowed the answers to be filtered.

Twenty-three people had just been inducted into the Court of Master Sommeliers on September 10 after passing the test at St. Louis, but the jury's action means that they will have to give up their title until they resume the tasting portion of the exam. The council has announced its intention to speed up the process for the candidates involved.

The title of master sommelier marks the highest recognition for the knowledge of wines and spirits, the service capabilities of beverages and the professionalism in the hospitality sector.

"It's fair to say that no matter who would be devastated," said Kruth, who managed the tasting portion of the review after two tries in 2008. "The first thing I did was thought, these are your nightmares that you have not really finished, we can assume they are all very upset and the situation is very unfortunate. "

Kruth is the president of GuildSomm, an educational website for wine professionals, which he launched in 2009. He was featured in the 2012 documentary "Somm". He is also the owner of Geyserville's Lost & Found vineyard, which produces 1,500 cases of Pinot Noir. , chardonnay and syrah each year.

"The entire sommelier community is shocked and saddened," he said.

GuildSomm is not affiliated with the Court of Master Sommeliers. Kruth stated that he was not aware of all the information available to the jury. He can not comment on his decision and disqualify the tasting part of the exam. But as a master sommelier, Kruth can give an overview of the tasting part of the exam by giving us an overview of the issues addressed by these 23 candidates.

The candidates, says Kruth, are trying to describe and identify the six wines of the tasting. The descriptors include visual appearance, aroma, mouth and winemaking techniques. To identify the wine, the candidates must indicate the grape variety and the region of origin of the wine, the vintage and the quality level in terms of classification.

The flight represents classic wines from classic venues and there are about 50 to 100 classic wine styles, Kruth said. Examples: Sonoma County Pinot Noir, Burgundy Pinot Noir, Rioja Tempranillo, Argentina Malbec and Albarino from Spain.

"To prepare, it's typical of people who taste wines of this format every day for many years," said Kruth. "I did it for six years before moving on. In general, passing people can correctly describe and identify five or six wines, but the rating depends on many factors. "

Tasting can be tricky, says Kruth, because it's easy to get caught by focusing on one characteristic of a wine rather than many to identify it. But if you keep a multi-faceted mindset, it's easier to locate the wine.