How To Train For The World's Most Elite Wine Exam (HBO)
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- Опубліковано 2 лют 2025
- The Master sommelier exam was established in 1969, to distinguish and certify the cream of wine professionals - those deigned specialist enough to work in the very finest dining in the world. It has a reputation for being impossible to pass. Becoming certified is so difficult that to date there are fewer than 300 master sommeliers in the world.
On average only about 10 to 12 percent of those who attempt the test actually pass each year. Last year’s results were unprecedented - a record 24 sommeliers passed. But after allegations emerged that someone leaked information about the exam in an email, all 23 those who took the blind tasting last year had their title revoked.
Most aspiring masters fall at the last hurdle - the blind tasting portion of the exam - where they are required to describe and identify the origin, grape, year, and quality of 6 wines - just by tasting them. Training for this exam is renowned for being mentally, emotionally and financially taxing.
But although the byzantine process is costly and all consuming, there is a life-long payoff for passing. Master sommeliers are revered for a combination of their profound arcane knowledge of wine and exceptional palates, and can double their salaries as a result.
Which is why when allegations of cheating emerged last year, the wine world was scandalized. A few weeks after the record pass rate, the board of examiners revealed that someone had leaked information in an email about the blind tasting wines, and the decision was made to revoke the titles of all 23 newly awarded masters.
Among them was Vincent Morrow, and his housemates Andrey and Jeremy. They live together in San Francisco where they are training for a retest.
VICE News spent some time with them in the weeks leading up to the retake.
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Most aspiring masters fall at the last hurdle - the blind tasting portion of the exam - where they are required to describe and identify the origin, grape, year, and quality of 6 wines - just by tasting them.
WATCH NEXT: What Happens When A State Grows Way Too Much Weed - bit.ly/2EDnsze
I think america should start smuggling weed. That will help them to solve the border problem. Its a Billion dollar industry.
Well wine teacher Frédéric Brochet of the University of Bordeaux challenged several sommelier's to a series of simple tests, first one Brocet had taste one white wine and one rose wine, all of them described the wines differently. There was just one problem, it was the same wine in both bottles. Brochet had dyed one of the bottles of white wine red. 2nd one Brochet had them taste an expensive Grand Cru and a cheap table wine, again the participants described the 2 wines differently. But again there was the same problem Brochet had poured the same wine into 2 different bottles.
@@sanyonazyin6063 ah yes so when you trick people they get tricked. Great conclusion. Humans get the vast majority of their information of the world from eye sight, by adding artificial dyes not only can u end up changing the taste you also completely confuse the senses. That's why this final test is a BLIND taste test and not a let's color wine differently to trick people.
I don't know what they were expecting to conclude with that study, all they concluded is when u trick someone into believing something theyre probably likely to trust you, especially in a lab test environment
Making continuous nebullar stellar clouds ☁️ by projecting (१.adan ki watika,2.in outer)space in every parsec(..)in N-E(.sleep.) direction(required or) and in every dimensions and as per required.
My friend who is not even a sommelier can predict the origin, grape, and year of the concealed bottle. 😂
It’s always crazy to behold
Vincent and Jeremy passed the 2019 test and are now master sommeliers for those wondering.
That's good
that's incredible and awesome to hear
You can tell he didn't cheat. He was too proud to wear that pen!
Fabulous! Thank you for letting us know.
Did he cheat?
a wine sommelier goes through a bad experience:
*stops drinking*
I love that honestly.
0:26 "I smell lemon, chamomile...
(sweat drips into the glass)
...ocean brine."
Skunk, cat piss, polonium... Must be a Soviet wine.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
her face lmfao
excellent comment
Ocean brine 💀💀💀
the test is intentionally too difficult if someone who is a master couldn't pass it repeatedly. it's a guild system to protect the monetary benefits and perceived elite status of the people who have passed.
It's the emperors new clothe. What is the purpouse of being able to be an expert at tastes that less than 300 people on earth can even distinguish? What a sham
As a Certified Somm, I can agree to an extent.
This is essential to classical French service. As a Chef I adore a good Sommelier.
Bravo to all who continue this important tradition. Try and try again! This is a great lesson for all of us! Was my first souffle perfect? Oh no. Disaster. Did I test myself every time I had to cook for someone? Of course. We are all tested every day. Its what we do with that work that matters. The court does not determine your worth. Your integrity does.
@@sunprincipe4711 Amen
To be fair thats how it is for many "Masters" examinations, from electricians and plumbers to sommeliers, most who pass wouldnt pass 2 years later if the test was randomly in front of them but the intense studying leading up, along with the comprehensive required experience guarantess alot of knowledge gets retained. For Somms the blind tasting, you gotta pick out the location, the year, the vinter, all on taste. That is fucking nuts, but it shows a master sommelier even if they cant pick out vintage blindly their whole careers have a comprehensive and complex understanding of wine. You cant not lol
Regarding the wine tasting part of the test. It is almost cruel to demand that the test takers must guess the right year of the wine. That requires both incredible knowledge and a bit of luck. And you must then taste wines for every year and grape and region etc. All at the same time. This is insane.
I believe it's about knowing each year and what may have been going on. Some of these guys blow my mind when they nail old vintages during blind tastings. Some years are very significant so they can taste whats happening that year. Like a California wine being a bit smoky during a year they had wildfires. I can't imagine it's easy, but they may being using specific years that signifigance the tasters should be aware of. Another way of identifying their knowledge of wine and showcasing how much they know.
it reminds me of professors who make incredibly hard tests, that if they were given a blind test of their own, they would not be able to pass
I know it would be really hard to guess for most wines but I do know there are a good little chunk of wines that by look and taste theire is immediate diffrence between one that was made in past couple years and decade or older.
age is one of the easiest things to determine, you can draw conclusions from observing the color of the wine, depth, etc.
Dude needs to fight his barber. ASAP!
DotEm fax
Hahahahhahahahah
@@supermexican12 you need to fight your teacher. ASAP
lol!!!!!! someone said it
bruh
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" Im not an alcoholic Sharon, its called a tasting, and its classy"
I’m so happy someone brought up Randy, I was losing hope when I started scrolling down 👌
4:06
Most convincing "No" of my entire life.
The Real Adam Sandler 😭😭😭😭
the third guy from the left hahaha looked like a 3rd grader in the principal's office
LOL yyyyyeah... :p
I was just thinking the same
The guy to the left had to look at the others to say no lmao
Each time the dude fails, he loses part of his hairline
Deadass
He's a dothraki
@@vman6422 unsullied
He pushes that shit back
He's a doper , losing hairline 😂🤣
Vincent pulled through in the end. Kind of sad to see some people were accusing him of cheating when he obviously has the talent.
Vincent Morrow was the obvious cheat. There's another video on UA-cam from 2017 or earlier where Vincent and Andrey blind taste wine and Vincent gets the liquor corner store cheapie completely wrong. Vincent Morrow was prohibited from Muay Thai gyms in San Francisco for repeatedly trying to sneak in without paying. He's a crook and cheater in all aspects.
he looks like a straight up con man
hardworking too
Both can be true
Vincent does not speak broke
So I work in the wine trade and am a certified sommelier, and studying for my advanced certification... there are only 300 masters somms or master of wine because it's very very very expensive to gain enough tasting experience to be-able to pick a wine out blind that can be from any region,country or grape or blend of grapes. At my level they can give you 3 wines from any country or region normally one of the wines will be a dead give away... but it's only a giveaway if you know that region like the back of your hand.
Congrats on being certified though!
“I smell sourness, bitterness and stink. It’s piss. “. Congratulations you pass
😂😂😂😅😅😅
5:24 OH NO VINCE HAS AIRPODS IN HE CAN'T TASTE THE WINE
Oh crap, oh frick.
what the heck!!1
I always knew my heavy training offered great carryover to my heavy wine drinking! 🍷
This has improv sketch written all over it
Getting fcked up professionally.
It wine.
Try drinking a liter in one sitting then come back
You spit most of the time in tastings
No they don't, sommeliers spit out the wine after tasting it.
Lol I’m a wine blogger and this is what I think of my job all the time
"Has rocked the wine world" I'm sure we'll recover, lol.
Charlet is one of the best things about Vice - she's a fantastic journalist and has a nack of bonding with people. More from her please!
Damn Vince straight up said "Do not reach out"
No BS
Cold af
*17 comments*
Of course they don't feel has confident the second time around. They didn't have the answers.
Lmao
This comment is SassSSY
@Jordan Keen Honestly I think so too... Wearing the badge even though he didnt pass... Thats kind of thing those who cheated do...
Needs👏 More👏 likes👏
@@martinbudinsky8912 seemed kind of weird to me too but he ended up passing so maybe it was legit
One wonders whether the guys at the top of the chain who started these certifications really could pass consistently themselves or not. It is a hit/miss situation and luck does play a role along with having a great wine mind and sensory perceptions. The stated 'extra' pay bump with a MS - does not make sense in many cases.
It’s a draw. Two identical restaurants sit side by side, one has a master som, one has a certified som. Where are the wine snobs gonna be going?
He passed since this report. Congrats for sticking to it.
"When you bring girls over" 😂
lol stopppppp
at 5:13 "crushed white rock" yeah bro cocaine is good in the bay area
They forgot to include the fact that you only get 3 tries to finish all 3 portions otherwise your reset and you must complete all 3 portions again within 3 tries.
Conveniently manage not to mention the name of the guy who was “whispering” the info and got these guys into trouble. He is Reggie Narito, a name that was dropped from the website of the Court of the Master Sommeliers after the scandal broke.
Andrew Yarosh thats circumstantial, be careful before you potentially callout the wrong person
Yeah that's probably because there wasn't any substantial proof that it really was him.
They don't wanna be sued.
Good dude
"Elite Wine" How do I get involved in this scam, I mean industry?
It is very hard to do. My friend went to Cambridge then traveled the wine world yet she tried twice to get her masters.
@@freshproducefloridapodcast192 professional wineos
Elite Wine could be a vaporwave project
I mean if your earning $70,000 on top of the salary that you're earning based off of the certification would you really consider it a scam?
@@MrHavy09 yes, yes I do. It's friggin a recreation...right up there with professional organizer singer and dancer. I'd say top it off at 50k max. You want more money be an engineer a doctor or scientist....🤔 the freaking scientists don't even get paid that much! Why!?
Looks like more of a lottery, not a test
@GapYear people hassle when they are addicted to gambling/drugs too, does not make it healthy
@GapYear I dont think anyones sense of smell or taste is so in tune they can determine the exact year a grape was fermented
@@MWilsonnnn it's not about getting the vintage correct. It's about getting enough points from overall analysis of the wine. They need to show they pick up compounds and structure in the wine that take them to a grape and place with possible vintage. The more accurate the better. The part where the guy says some are amazing tasters that dont perform under pressure is true, they can over think it.
@@etanj88 wrong they've done blind studies more than once. It's all bunk
@@TheDoctorWholigan I am familiar with the studies that you are referencing and they don't say that wine tasting is bunk, they say that it can be heavily influenced by outside factors and for the vast majority of people those factors can actually be (and frequently are) more important to the perceived taste than the actual taste of the wine ... master sommeliers are not most people. In fact that is precisely why they are so valuable to the wine industry because of what they can effectively ignore for food pairing (and the flip side of the coin) their ability to harness outside factors not related to the flavor of the wine itself to modify consumer perception of flavor.
I know a master sommelier. Dude, when people at restaurants find out the waiters and managers all come up and ask him for advice during our meal.
These boys take their grape juice seriously! haha
I can't even taste the difference between steak and chicken
Is this a goRdon ramSey reference
@@leandrop4r4g4s shhhhhhhhh
Central Intelligence Agencies the feathers
One is juicy and one is chewy and dry
Class cheats on last year's exam. Cheater after retest: "I don't think anyone I've talked to feels as confident as they did the last time." 😅
i think its interesting that if you retested everyone who passed one year the next, a large portion wouldnt pass again. meaning that the "test" is an artificial line in the sand that serves as a financial barrier to entry.
Does this make you a professional alcoholic?
Most the time u spill out the wine. no alcoholic will.
You spit in tastings.
@@giornogillespie5755 Really? I thought it might have been from giving a BJ to some judge with a f**ked up urinary tract.
Yes.
No they spit it out again
Living in San Francisco, drinking wine and getting interviewed by Vice... must be nice.
2:33 It was definitely this guy who was the culprit. He's sweatin'.
He probably said 'you forgot to collect our homework' in school
That brief pause before answering when Charlet asked the guys if they were given the results leads me to believe that they're lying.
In modern times, a sommelier's role may be considered broader than working only with wines, and may encompass all aspects of the restaurant's service, with an enhanced focus on wines, beers, spirits, soft-drinks, cocktails, mineral waters, and tobaccos
I thought this was a joke when he was working out and tasting wine
imagine going to wine exam then after receiving the certificate you open box full of iced beer and chug it down as you go exited the building
It would be funny to see him at outdoor training. Running with a bottle of wine in central park. Tasting intervals at every 200 meters.
Uncorked brought me here ✊🏻
same
Me - Civil Services are the toughest exams.
Wine master - Hold my wine....
Why do you have a life time pass if you pass once but someone who 'passed' once already could fail. Why doesn't everyone have to take the test every year.
Zach Couch lol
It’s called Tom Foolery.
@@lmcov4 Taking any of the MS (Master Sommelier) or MW (Master of Wines) exams - theory, tasting and service (MS only) is only valid for two years. If you pass one but fail the others, you can retry the failed ones the next year. After the two years expired and you still fail, you have to start again. I have a lot of respect for anyone doing their MS exams as it basically consumes your whole life for the duration.
I worked in the wine industry I know how all this works. Thanks
Lol it's a scam
Never thought becoming a marketing professional can be this tough.
Statistically around 1.5 of those roommates themselves cheated. I suggest a wine bottle fight to the death and the winner becomes the one true master!
I am so effin happy Charlet is back. It has been way too long.
He tasting wine! Why does he have to work out hella lol
Because working out causes your sympathetic nervous system to activate, which allows for your senses to be better enhanced. So by working out and then smelling it allows for him to also train his nose at smelling at a higher level.
So why are you thinking of joining our gym?
“I WANNA BE A DISCIPLE OF BACCHUS”
Sure sure
''so, what do you do?''
''i'm a professional alcoholic''
How does one get into this? Do you need an undergraduate in naivety? Or perhaps a diploma in pretentious?
Obviously you need both, you uncultured peasant.
Oof
You could be me....a dude who grew up in hillbilly south Texas, and saw being a Somm as a way to help pay for college, then grad school.
Must be great having a degree on obnoxiousness and dickishness.
Go watch Somm 1-3 on Hulu if you're interested in this topic. The first Somm especially focuses on the exam itself.
I feel so bad for the people who genuinely passed the test and then had to retake it but failed because of nerves. That's just fucked up.
Yay Andre! Miss ya from me bugging you about my baby somm at 33 Wine bar. Back when we both had hair🤣🤣🤣
Vince passed in September 2019 so there is a happy ending.
ah yes, this tastes like a red wine
when your mom asks if youve smoked weed before 4:07
Hope they all managed to pass in future tests! It'd be a tragedy for the wine world to miss out on such talent!
*I'm the World's foremost expert on 32oz and 40oz beers purchased at convenience stores. Do you wish to interview me?*
I thought the first minute was a great comic sketch
I mean 0:25 and 0:54 show great comic talent
Why he got to flex so hard with those air pods? 7:36
Joseph Sell “I have air pods so it cushions the fall of me failing”
its san francisco. everyone has air pods lol
Dude that "doesn't even want to know who is responsible on either end" is def guilty.
my man's hairline is JACKED up
Still cheaper than a 4-year college degree. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is worse than underwater basket weaving
@@TheActiveAssault that’s an elective, not a major. Calm down.
Hardest test in the world lmaooo neuroscientists watch out
It is the hardest test. Hardest wine test ofc
Navy SEALs would disagree xD
its harder miss one date and its over
It’s 12 am and I’m watching 3 dudes sniff wine
Trying to taste anything inside of a gym sounds like a bad idea. The sweat of yourself and others, the equipment itself, the cleaning fluids (if it's a nice gym), etc.
These kids are idiots, that clip brings discredit to this whole program and those who “pass”.
If I didn’t know what was goin on I’d think he was training for an exhibition match with his barber 😂😂😂
I hope we can have elite kush exams in the future.
Dude at 2:34 definitely folded 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
charlet should have vids every week ! the best !!
The best way to be the best master sommelier is fight to dead with their own fav wine bottle
Wine culture is overrated.
you're just peanut butter and jelly
So many scams! Used to live in Napa.
If it wasn't they wouldn't make their money.
@@s3ntin3l60 Oh, I know. I've worked in a few fine dining restaurants and bullshitted my way to a lot of wine sales.
i feel like tricking this guy with Trader Joes Wine
Update: HE PASSED!!
Yay! How'd you find out??
A bunch of sour grapes in the end.
Stationary bike and wine huffing, yeah these guys are pretty cool
Whats next professional turtle racing 😂😂😂
I'm__Awesome cuz you no it illegal crayfish racing
its hilarious how the interviewer lady said "When you bring girls here" as if the sommelier gentlemen aren't all ecstatically gay
Update: Vincent is a master sommelier as of 09/2019 🍷
i thought this was a satire sketch at first
And yet, this organisation is almost irrelevant in France, where "sommelier" is more of an informal title rather than a diploma.
That's not quite true. Maitre sommelier does carry a lot of weight. And many have a university diploma, for instance from the university of Bordeaux as well.
@@patricklaureys1249 Well, France's best sommeliers never passed this examination.
His shape up is crazy.
4:07 - one of them is lying, and I know which......
SHE'S BACK!
Being a sommelier was my ultimate dream but in my country there aren't any courses or degrees related to this and I can't afford a course in another country😭😭😭
If you found this interesting. Please watch the documentary, Somm. One of my favorites.
Uhhhhhhh how does working out help his sense of smell ?
Maybe the rush of blood helps his senses to be more acute?
when i workout my sense of smell is increased 10 fold. smell affects taste... so maybe thats how?
i think it is to improve the bodies ability to smell and taste, not sure if it works or not but it may helped.
I don't think it does. I think it is a way of training you ability to stay calm and preform/stay focused when you are in a stressed situation
You get more oxygen into your blood and you get it faster, that means sharper senses and faster thinking.
we need a Key & Peele on this theme
So they take the test a bunch of times and seem to just randomly pass almost like its mainly guess work
if you just guess you have 0% chance of passing
no way i could do this.. wines give me the worst headaches
I hope he stopped wearing the Master pin, especially after he retook the test and failed. That was some stolen valor shit right there
Agreed. I get the protestations it represented, but also have respect for the title , as soon as I saw it I was like...damn..he jinxed it...
Wearing the pin is not stolen valor. Stealing the pin is stolen valor. And that sommelier organization doesn’t even care. If they did, they would release the info. And they would only punish those who had info with a real investigation. Instead of doing that, “Let’s protect this guy I like. We are going to fail everyone! And collectively waste years worth of people’s time.”
The sommelier was the one whose valor was stolen. If he legit passed, and then failed, it’s a messed up situation. He’ll have to dedicate many more months/years of his life living with other sommeliers until he gets back what he’s earned.
@@timithy4569 who knows if he actually earned it. If he really deserved the pin he wouldn't have failed when he retook the test. So if he cheated the first time it's obvious that he would fail when there is no opportunity to cheat the second time. It's kind of like being a world record holder in the year 2018 when in 2019 somebody broke your record but you still go around telling everybody that you are the current record holder. It's just wrong.
@@athmaid It's designed so that it's too difficult. It's more of a lottery than anything else. If master sommeliers can't pass several times, the system is broken
@@athmaidThats not true, dont you get it, they are literally blind taste testing wines and having to describe its characteristics and the exact wine down to the year....THE YEAR...honestly i could he wasnt going to pass because of how much of a letdown passing and then it being rescinded. I hope we get an update on this......
I'm getting notes of gym mats, ball sweat, and is that a hint of....yes, protein induced mud-butt coming from the bathroom.
what’s good with bruh hairline though 😂
to become a master you have to pass 4 exams. intro, cert, advanced, master.
oef vincent took his loss hard....must have been hard to hear that the first time he passed but didn't the second time....
Sounds like it's a real must-have within the business
How do you know he didn't cheat?
@@norinradd1607 he passed in sept
Did anyone else have a phantom sensation where they smelled wine while watching this video?
Bummer him and his entire group got bunched together as cheaters, but that's life for you; all it takes is one, and sometimes you suffer for other people's faults. It's unfair, but so is life.
I really admire his answer for why he still wears the MSE pin. "I know what I've accomplished" - he's not retaking it for him, but for everyone else. Very professional of him asking not to be interviewed instead of outright ignoring requests.
I didn't know i needed this till' now!!!