I had an interesting conversation with my friend Laura recently, which made me think about the rise of the fake sommelier.  Laura is a super-cool, brilliant female attorney who was on a trip to South Beach with some girlfriends when she had an encounter with this dreaded foe. While by no means experts, Laura and her friends had taken some wine classes, drank wine regularly, and shopped at wine stores where they asked lots of questions and were open to experimenting. I frankly was impressed by just how much Laura knew about wine, which is why her South Beach story made me laugh. It quickly became clear that the "sommelier" who was helping them with the wine list knew little to nothing about wine beyond the dollar signs on the right-hand side of the menu. After many mispronunciations, wrong grape identifications, and other rookie errors from this faker, the girls wisely took matters into their own hands and ordered without his so-called expertise.

Being a sommelier is a fairly new profession in the US. It is only within the last two years that wine consumption in the States has finally outpaced beer, and that is a momentous milestone. Sommeliering is also an incredibly misunderstood profession, as became clear at my college reunion when classmates scratched their heads and wondered aloud how they too could get paid to drink on the job. Lastly, there aren't many official courses of study available to become a "certified" sommelier. There's the venerable old Court of Master Sommeliers, a British organization with whom I personally have studied, as well as the newer, New York-based American Sommelier Association, but frankly, these groups can be quite arbitrary in whom they pass and whom they do not. It's highly political and subjective, though if you love wine, it's definitely well worth enrolling in these courses of study if just for the opportunity to review comprehensively. (Be prepared to pay big bucks, by the way.)

Being a sommelier ultimately boils down to wielding the corkscrew and educating your palate; in short, to WORKING day in and day out with wine in restaurants with great wine programs. One doesn't become a master chef overnight anymore than one becomes an expert sommelier after taking a class or two. I myself have been doing this seriously for about 11 years now, and it's only within the last three to four years that I feel I have begun to understand wine in a more holistic and comprehensive way. And while I know an absurd amount of wine trivia and useless grape factoids, I also respect that there are sommeliers out there with more experience and more refined palates. It simply takes time.

Moral of the story: If you suspect the person helping you with the wine list is full of hot air, you may be right. Great sommeliers don't need to show off with their wine knowledge, and they don't ever try to convince you to spend more than you intend.  They don't bully, they teach. Find a real sommelier and you'll have a terrific wine experience, no matter what your budget. Find a faker? Don't waste your time and don't be intimidated.