rhyzome1 Double-blind tastings have as much relevance to real, hands- on restaurant work as the Zodiac does to Astronomy. What you have, rather, is a trade-show paper- chase that's been cooked up by the pretentiously self-qualified to scam money from the slightly less agile. Suffice it to mention, moreover, that the 'masters' title has absolutely nothing to do with certification from an accredited college or university. Real masters, from academia, are given by juries of PhD's to acknowledge mastery over a subject of which they, as individuals, have made a contribution to knowledge. Therefore, I challenge any judge of said 'court' to present qualifications that would demonstrate any contribution on their part. to the knowledge of wine. 'Proper' cigar service, perhaps, expressed as their own opinion of propriety? 'Proper' chilling of whites--ostensibly with far greater reference to Oscar Wilde than Van der Walls? Or how about yet another uselessly digressive, non-chemical explanation of 'tannins'?Lastly, of course, the use of 'Court' speaks volumes about their collective idiocy. How do they support their right to hold court, or to judge, as it were? Where, pray tell, is there a public textbook that's made available for scrutiny much as, say, physics, chemistry, history, or whatever that's taught over at Dustbunny U? Without reference to said text that's available for all to see, this self-entitled 'court' ranks nothing higher than podunk inquisitional circa AD1200--or rather a Humpty-Dumpty manifesto that states that things mean exactly what I say they mean at the time that I say it". So much for restaurant 'professionalism': next, perhaps, chiropractics?Bill Harris

dwuksta Bunch of young guys try to become Sommeliers, who are experts in wine, said to be one of the hardest exams to pass. I didn't really learn any interesting facts about wine. It was really just guys sitting around offering their best descriptions of the wine they were tasting, doing a bit of study, getting annoyed, bit more study, mock exams, whinging. We never really became connected with the participants, or came to know much about them at all, except that they wanted to pass this test. I was intrigued by how they were able to correctly identify some of the wine, but it was never really explored how they do it. I assume from drinking a lot of wine from all over the world. I mean...how does one become interested in this??? Not answered. How is it done??? Not answered. How many varieties of wine are there??? They did say there only 147 qualified in the world, so that was one interesting fact. I did feel sympathetic to the guys and the amount of pressure they were under, but the whole topic and the characters were vastly unexplored. I wouldn't rush out to catch this.

lordahl This is really one of the worst documentaries I have seen in a while. It has the feel of a 30-minute reality TV show about four guys who have to take a test, but stretched out to two hours.Generally speaking, a documentary should do one of two things (or both): (1) expand a person's knowledge of a subject; and/or (2) create a bond between the viewer and the subject so as to convey some sort of overriding message.This film does none of that. It's four guys studying a lot, and then interviews with their wives and S/O's.The film does not even begin to educate viewers about wine, wine provenance, or wine tasting. Despite devoting what seems like endless periods of time showing the four guys studying up on wine geography, for example, the film does not provide the viewer a brief explanation of the major areas in world where wine grapes are grown.Similarly, we are exposed to dozens of shots of tasting sessions where the somm's use all kinds of technical jargon to describe wine -- and not once does the film attempt to convey to the watcher what any of it means.Being a bit of a wine enthusiast, I picked up some of the meaning. But as a documentary? This thing is terrible. It's four guys who work in the wine industry and love wine who study for a big test. If they fail the test? They take it again next year.By the end of the film, the viewer does not care about the guys, the test, or anything else. When I studied for the bar exam, I did not video record myself doing so because it lacked any sort of entertainment value. One wonders why the same restraint was not exhibited by the filmmakers here.

fansynancy SOMM tells the story of a group of young men working towards earning the prestigious title Master Sommelier. This is among the most difficult series of exams to pass in the world. Incredibly, the candidate must blind taste wine and identify its type region and vintage as part of the test. The people who choose to pursue this are an interesting and varied group. In the end, it's about wine, but It is also the tale of friendship, teamwork and perseverance. The pressure of the upcoming exam is palpable, weighing on relationships. We waited in line for two hours to see this film at the Napa Valley Film Festival. We were so gad we did. It was fabulous!