Somm (2012)

           Anyone can claim to be a sommelier, but precious few wine stewards have earned the "Master Sommelier Diploma." That rare distinction is beyond the "introductory," the "certified," and the "advanced" certifications. The MS was introduced in 1969, and since then only about 200 people have earned the coveted distinction. This documentary could have been so much better, but it's still fun to watch as it follows four young men who study for and then take the MS exam, which is a three-day test that covers theory, service, and then the dreaded blind tasting of three reds and three whites while four master sommeliers stare at you across the table. And pass or fail, they never tell you what the wines were. In their group, only six of fifty people passed the test. Fermented grape juice was never so complicated. I watched this movie on Netflix streaming. For an in depth article about wine critics, see the fascinating article about Robert Parker called The Million Dollar Nose (The Atlantic, December 2000): http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2000/12/langewiesche.htm.