葡萄酒最负盛名的团体在性行为不端调查后驱逐了六名大师侍酒师

弗雷德·达姆(Fred Dame

The marker of a master sommelier is the coveted pin that they wear.

The marker of a master sommelier is the coveted pin that they wear.

Russell Yip/The Chronicle 2015

在调查后,六个大师侍酒师将失去享有声望的葡萄酒头衔性行为不端指控,等待上诉 - 尤其是旧金山的弗雷德·达姆(Fred Dame)被称为“美国侍酒师社区的教父”和另外两个当地人物:罗伯特·巴斯(Robert Bath),美国圣海伦娜(St. Helena)烹饪学院的教授,以及纳帕餐厅Compline的共同所有人Matt Stamp。

Napa-based法院主侍酒师,美国s, the influential organization that can make a sommelier’s career, announced on Wednesday that it will also move to terminate the membership of Fred Dexheimer, a wine consultant in Brooklyn; Drew Hendricks, who had been director of business development at Pioneer Wine Co. in Texas until November 2020; and Joseph Linder, a sommelier in Seattle.

他们被指控采取一系列不当行为,包括非自愿感动,调情和启动剥削性关系。法院没有指定每个人被指控的行为。其中一些指控播出了2020年10月的《纽约时报》文章, which prompted the court to commission an outside investigation into the claims. That investigation informed the current terminations.

Arguably the most famous master sommelier in the U.S., Dame was a focal point of the “Somm” documentary series, which feted him as a legendary figure who had kicked off a wine revolution in the 1980s. Dame started his career as a sommelier at the Sardine Factory in Monterey. Until October 2020, he worked as the global brand ambassador for Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles (San Luis Obispo County). He is a co-founder of the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas.

十多名妇女告诉《纽约时报》,女士与她们进行了不必要的接触,其中包括两次在专业活动中拍打妇女后端的情况。

在调查中提到的其他两个当地人Bath and Stamp在其纳帕谷社区中众所周知。巴斯(Bath)于1993年通过了侍酒师大师考试,除了在美国烹饪学院教授葡萄酒课程外,他是美国第一批获得冠军头衔的人之一,他还在圣海伦娜(St. Helena)经营一家葡萄酒进口公司Alpha Omega酒庄。

邮票在法国洗衣店举行的一家侍酒师,在纳帕市中心经营一家受欢迎的餐厅。他还以作家的作品而闻名,多年来担任侍酒师湾区教育平台Guildsomm多年。根据《纽约时报》的报告,邮票与两名参加侍酒师考试的妇女有性关系,未能向法院披露该信息。

邮票周三表示,他确实从宣判了这些妇女的考试中,但承认《道德守则》表示,他不应该在与他有浪漫关系的任何人进行检查附近。

邮票说:“作为一名侍酒师大师,我努力看到学生在法院公平地成功了10年,为那些缺乏日常进入侍酒师社区的人开发教育,这就是使当今决定的严重性如此困难的原因。”“我将从错误中学习和成长,并以沉重的心接受今天的决定。”

其他五个人都没有回应《纪事报》的评论请求。

根据加利福尼亚州管理非营利组织的法律,这六名男子有30天的时间对这一决定提出上诉。在此期间之后,如果董事会坚持终止其成员资格的决定,则将禁止他们将来与法院相关的任何活动。他们还将禁止使用“大师侍酒师”的标题,这是一个有力的荣誉,它在葡萄酒行业中授予了巨大的影响力。必威手机登录

杰夫·克鲁斯(Geoff Kruth)被指控犯有不当行为的第七大侍酒师,在调查结束之前已经自愿辞职。克鲁斯(Kruth),以前是公会的负责人据称是不需要的性侵犯迈向至少六位女大师侍酒师候选人。董事会主席艾米丽·葡萄酒(Emily Wines)说,由于他已经辞职,因此法院无法终止会员资格,但董事会主席艾米莉·葡萄酒(Emily Wines)将被禁止重新申请会员资格。

大师侍酒师标题是一种用于葡萄酒酒店专业人士的圣杯,众所周知的艰苦考试涉及“盲目品尝”部分,要求候选人在玻璃杯中识别葡萄的品种,原产地点和葡萄酒的葡萄酒,而没有外部信息。候选人花费数年的时间为考试做准备;3%至5%的申请人通过。

Originally created to establish a set of professional standards among wine stewards in restaurants, the master sommelier title today has a much broader currency. The certification affords a wide range of lucrative job opportunities with prestigious restaurant groups, big wine wholesalers, large wineries and more. In recent years, master sommeliers have taken on a kind of celebrity status, thanks in large part to the “Somm” documentaries.

Emily Wines, a master sommelier in Oakland, is the chair of the board of directors for the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas. She works as the vice president of wine and beverage experience of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant.

Emily Wines, a master sommelier in Oakland, is the chair of the board of directors for the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas. She works as the vice president of wine and beverage experience of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant.

礼貌的艾米丽葡萄酒

美国大师侍酒师法院代表这些选择性的等级。只有172人通过组织获得了侍酒师大师的头衔。(计算那些经过法院的英国分会的人,有269.)其中有172个,只有28个是妇女。

在去年的性行为不端指控浮出水面之前,法院已经处于宣传危机。在2018年,它承认它有发现作弊的实例在大师侍酒师检查中。通过当年考试的23个人随后失去了头衔。

然后,在2020年春天,一位黑葡萄酒专业人士叫塔希拉·哈比比(Tahiirah Habibi)批评法院因为她要求她以“主人”的身份将白人考试者称呼,这让人回想起奴隶制的动力。结果,法院表示,它将不再需要使用该术语。

但是已经造成了一些损害。理查德·贝茨(Richard Betts),布莱恩·麦克林(Brian McClintic)和内特(Nate)包括著名大师侍酒师announced that they would relinquish their titles, no longer wishing to associate themselves with the court.

其他叛逃继续after the sexual misconduct allegations surfaced later in the year, including from well-known female master sommeliers阿尔帕纳·辛格(Alpana Singh),Pascaline Lepeltier和Laura Maniec Fiorvanti。

公开呼吁法院进行根本性更改。作为回应,法院暂停了至少11名被任命为性虐待肇事者的侍酒师。然后,其整个董事会辞职。

Soon after a new board of directors was elected, it hired Margaret C. Bell, a third-party workplace investigator, to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations that had come to light.最终,正在调查22名侍酒师大师。据法院称,贝尔在九个月内采访了80多人,包括涉嫌受害者,证人和被告。

贝尔的采访完成后,法院董事会召集了审查每个案件。据《葡萄酒》报道,这项努力主要由其道德委员会的两个联合主席,男性侍酒师迈克尔·梅格尔(Michael Meagher)和戴维·吉田(David Yoshida)领导。一个名为Raliance的外部组织为NFL和Uber提供了如何处理性骚扰事件的建议。

根据贝尔收到的信息,董事会决定终止六人的会员资格。其他一些被告的侍酒师仍然可以保留其头衔,但面临其他惩罚,例如临时暂停或要求他们完成进一步培训的要求。葡萄酒说,在这种情况下的目标是提供康复,而不是简单地“取消某人”。法院不会确定他们的姓名,也不会指定他们的惩罚。

Members of the board said that in addition to the investigation, they’ve implemented other actions during the past year in the hope of change. The court got rid of its dress code, which had required master sommeliers to wear certain color suits and had specified that men must wear master sommelier-branded ties; the new change is meant to be more inclusive of all gender identities. It also launched a scholarship program for women and candidates of color, implemented anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, and drafted a new code of ethics.

“It’s going to take time to earn that trust back, but we felt that going from a two-page code of ethics to a 26-page suite of ethics was the right first step,” said Meagher, a master sommelier in Massachusetts. So far, he said, 80% of master sommeliers have signed a pledge that they will follow the new code of ethics. Anyone found in violation of the code will be subject to a future investigation.

“我们知道这不会解决这一问题,”董事会主席董事会多样性委员会的侍酒师萨巴托·萨加里亚(Sabato Sagaria)说。“我们侵蚀了很多信任。这需要时间。”

这个故事已被更新,以反映以下事实:六个被告大师侍酒师尚未从美洲大师侍酒师法院终止。他们有30天的时间在失去头衔之前对决定提出上诉。它还已更新以包括马特·邮票(Matt Stamp)的声明,并阐明邮票在与他与之关系的妇女的考试中所扮演的角色。

埃丝特·莫布利(Esther Mobley)是旧金山纪事报的高级葡萄酒评论家。电子邮件:emobley@sfchronicle.comTwitter:@esther_mobley