The Wandering Sommelier

Culled from The first generation of American Masters (Randy Caparoso) published by Sommelier Journal, August 2013. When I was kid I was fascinated by the story of the initial conquest of Mount Everest . It took about a dozen failed expeditions between 1922 and 1953, before Hillary and Norgay made their first agonizing climb to the summit. Since then, thousands of people have made the climb; at last count, in well over 5,000 expeditions.  Since 1922, well over 300 souls have perished along the way.   So it must have seemed, for the first American Master Sommeliers, who not only had to pass the daunting three-part examination administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers (i.e., CMS), but also had to overcome the disadvantage of preparing for the exams entirely on their lonesome, traveling all the way to the U.K. on their own dime to do it. As of this date, less than 300 individuals in the world have earned the title of Master Sommelier, or MS, since the Court was established in 1977