I don’t know enough about him/Somm movies/CMS to say that I’ll defend him, but I do know how the movie came about in the first place. He was friends with Brian and thought that what he was going through might make an interesting film. He did not set out to glorify the CMS - nor do I think he did that in the movie. He simply found the hard work that somebody (later multiple people) were going through to be interesting and worthy of documenting. AFAIK, none of the “main” cast of Somm — Brian, Ian, DLynn, Dustin, etc — are in any way implicated.
I feel sorry for those who have worked hard to achieve the MS distinction. Folks who have become MSs honestly (oops, did I bring up another scandal??) will suffer. Unless the CMS straightens up and learns to fly right, these folks are screwed. Several friends worked really hard for this honor and I imagine they are pretty pissed off.
The Grand Pooh-Bahs leading CMS are in control of such damage, but care less about these money-dispensing supplicants than about their female quarry.
And they do not care at all about the latter.
First off on behalf of the victims I feel so angry that we have despicable men like this in society. I applaud their courage to go public with this so it prevents it happening to others.
What I wonder is how is the head of this broken organization employed in a high profile job at Whole Foods / Amazon. How do so many corporations (LVMH), Southern etc. enable them.
Lastly as Keith said there are so many great people in the wine world. Two of them who are members here Arvid Rosengren (winner of the top sommelier competition) and Levi Dalton (only needed to pass service and he would have been an MS) could have easily gotten the MS which brings enormous financial opportunities, decided against it for what I can only surmise are the many issues that organization has.
Yet another horrid situation that exposes the unacceptable level of white male bias in American life. It’s disgusting, and makes me very ashamed of people who look just like me. Ugh.
I think referring to this as a racial thing is quite misleading. It is a power thing. Unless you believe that white males are racially predisposed to sexually abusive behavior. It is about discrepancies in power and control issues. The organization obviously lacked sufficient oversight and ethics to police themselves. Looking at the color of their skin is an interesting observation, but not causation. You don’t have to be white to be a sex offender. That is what we are talking about here.
I am saddened that even in a beautiful and passionate hobby, there are individuals like this who are “authorities” and role models. The only good thing to possibly come out of this is the recognition that there are perhaps younger, assertive, more self confident young women and men who will be able to stand up for themselves. They should know that the vast majority of society and public opinion will support the value that this behavior is not OK. When they do go public, it helps to send a signal to other potential abusers that they can be held accountable.
I think white males are in a dominant position of power. I say that as a white male who is ashamed of too many members of my gender/pigmentation.
Thanks for posting this.
I have other things I’m thinking and want to say about all this, here and elsewhere, but I best keep it semi-private.
There is a new statement from CMS-A
How about program refunds?
I totally agree.
Looks like they’ve been shamed enough to actually issue some semblance of an apology. Not holding my breath for actual change though.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHG6nfLHq6f/
Laura Maniec Fiorvanti of Corkbuzz suspending her membership with the Court
I can’t find a copy of this to include directly but here is a statement from all active women members of CMS. If anyone has the text, please paste below.
Well this seems like the first needed step among many to address the issue. A little too late in general, but I don’t see how this organization can continue to exist with any kind of respectability or positive image unless they completely clean house, investigate fully the circumstance of the abusive incidents, and expel all members who have damaged the reputation of the organization. They had also better check their assets and insurance coverage for corporation malfeasance. (not sure about the specific legal term). There will be many, many lawsuits to wade through in the future. What a mess.
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Suspensions.
A nice story about women running the show.
Totally agree. It is a labor of love for so many good decent hard working people.
Sometimes D&O insurance doesn’t cover actions taken in bad faith - i.e. when a board or officer is willfully and knowingly violating laws. Typically, that doesn’t happen in normal organizations, but it seems like CMS is more like a fraternity chapter gone rogue, than a conventional professional society. (And I say that as an ex officio fraternal board member so not throwing rocks at the social Greek system)