Master Sommelier or “Wine GEEKS”?

Do you have a taste for rich food and enjoy playing culinary roulette? In these troubled times, a position has arisen in the royal house to be the majesty's official food taster or better known as a Sommelier. You never know when some wretched rascal is going to have a pop at the king or queen and slip something nasty into a dainty dish, so your job is to taste everything before it crosses the royal lips.
A sip of soup here, a smidgen of pie there, taste some of the best wine in the world, there's no end to the delights that await your taste buds. Of course, you won't actually get to eat any complete dishes, and there's always the chance that you'll crash to the floor clutching you throat as, with your last gasps, you slip off this mortal coil. But the money is fantastic and better than that – you'll be protecting the queen!
Now, the job of a sommelier was not only to taste to assure it was safe to eat and drink, but also to make sure it was to the taste satisfaction of the royal family. As time evolved the job description has changed and sommeliers were requested in the hospitality industries to pair the chef’s food with the wine of the cellar.
Sommeliers were required to have a great vast knowledge of wine, spirits, cheese, spices, and etiquettes.

Some of the older secret wine society of Europe still carry these values, But in 1977 a marketing group that wanted to tap in to the Restaurant and Hotel industry, formed a group called “Court of Master Sommelier”. This “Court” is for anyone to join and take the “test” for a fee. They pay to play in the hospitality industry to manage a “Profitable” beverage list for their employer.

The CMS, does have a rigorous test in the “book” knowledge of wine, as in any profession you can go to college and learn thru the books. Or you can get hands on training. The CMS ask that you have at least 3 years in the “wine services”. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I want a wine pairing advice from a wine stocker of a wine store, or from a wine salesman from a distributor, (they may know their portfolio very well, but I want a larger option, and I want to pair them with food).
The TRUE art of a sommelier is lost with the CMS and their marketing propaganda. They are the most recognized group in the Sommelier profession due to the large advertising, but so is NIKE in the sneaker business, but does that make them the best shoes?

A ligament Sommelier is picked to join because he or she posses a higher than normal taste palette and can distinguish the flavors and spices that comes with pairing wine with food. A Sommelier will match the best wine to compliment your food, not the profit of the restaurant. There are some wines at $15 that pair better than a $45, but don’t tell that to a “MS”.
A true sommelier works for the client, to make sure they get the best taste experience offered, profit is the last thing on a true sommelier mind.

These MS get on restaurant groups that have 5 or more restaurants under their umbrella and they have the same wine list at each restaurant. The food may be different but the wine is the same. They do this to get the “case” discount to maximize the bottom line and you get stuck drinking the same old, same old. This is what they have learned from working in the shipping department of the wine stores before paying the fee to enter the CMS program.

So the next time you go to a restaurant and ask for the advise of the sommelier whom is a member of the Court of Master Sommelier, ask your self, did this person ever have the dish I order with the wine he just recommended? Or did he just recommend a wine that will help him meet his end of month bottom line?