I am sure the people at Netflix streaming are monstrously confused by some of my choices. I switch from Doctor Who to Aziz Ansari comedy to Dexter and then to a documentary about taking the Master Sommelier test, with the abbreviated title, Somm.
Yes, this is a craft beer blog but the process and the studying and the tasting of wine after wine is very analagous to our world.
The four main characters in this drama are all attempting to reach the final plateau of the wine world. And the amount of information they must regurgitate like so much wine is astonishing. History, appellations, grape varietals producers and the list goes on and on.
The Master test is comprised of three parts designed (it seems) to torture those who are probably good enough to in that rareified air. A serving portion where you have to perform a restaurant style wine task, an oral exam and what seems the most devilish is the blind tasting.
Imagine being given 6 beers from light to dark and being put ON the CLOCK and you then have say not only the style, not only the brewer but the year as well. All while giving confident tasting notes.
I was held rapt by all four, who could pick out many right. Do that for me with beer and I would probably give you the correct style on 5 out of 6 but barring a miracle would not be able to tell you the brewer or year. Hell no. But these guys could with a sniff, a swirl and a taste (followed by the disgusting spit into the bucket).
And unlike “reality” shows, this doc simply showed the people talking about and tasting wine. The drama was already there. It didn’t have to be manufactured because the people were passionate and thus, interesting.
Now we just need these guys to do the Cicerone companion piece.