Fred Dame

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Fred Dame
Born1952or1953(age 69–70) [1]

Fred Dame is an American wine professional.

Dame was born in California and attended Washington and Lee University, earning a degree in journalism and communications. [2]

Dame in 1984 became a Master Sommelier, passing the exam in London before the United States had a court. [3] He was the first person to pass all three parts of the Master Sommelier examination on the first attempt, which is called "winning the Krug Cup". [4] [2] [5]

In 1986 he was co-founder of the Court of Master Sommeliers in the United States and was its first president. [3] [1] [6] [7] He has been called "the godfather of the American sommelier community". [6] [8] He appeared in the 2012 documentary about American sommelier candidates, SOMM. [9] [10] In that documentary other Master Sommeliers described him as intimidating. [3]

In 2020, during the Me Too movement, Dame was accused by multiple female Master Sommeliers or former Master Sommelier candidates of sexual harassment and eventually expelled from the organization. [1] [11] [8] [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Moskin, Julia (2020-10-29). "The Wine World's Most Elite Circle Has a Sexual Harassment Problem". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  2. 1 2 Master Sommelier Frederick L. Dame Archived 2018-02-18 at the Wayback Machine San Diego Wine Classic
  3. 1 2 3 "Somm". 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  4. ↑ Master Sommelier Fred Dame: Best Job In The World Archived 2022-05-25 at the Wayback Machine PAUL HODGINS, MARCH 23, 2016
  5. ↑ The roast of master sommelier Fred Dame Archived 2018-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Jordan Winery, May 2014
  6. 1 2 Parente, Michelle (2020-01-02). "'Godfather of American sommeliers' Fred Dame pouring Daou wines at San Diego pairing dinner". San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  7. ↑ "The Reign of Fred Dame | SevenFifty Daily". Beverly Hills Wine Club . 2019-10-28. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  8. 1 2 Southern, Keiran (2023-06-26). "Fred Dame, godfather of US wine, may be cast out 'for slapping women'". The Times of London . ISSN   0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  9. 1 2 Mobley, Esther (2021-11-17). "Wine's most prestigious group moves to expel six master sommeliers after sexual misconduct investigation". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  10. ↑ Chang, Justin (2013-06-21). "Film Review: 'Somm'". Variety . Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  11. ↑ Lawati, Ning Sang (2021-11-19). "Court of Master Sommeliers expels six members over sexual harassment". Vino Joy News . Archived from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
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