> If someone is a sommelier, they're an expert in which topic?And the answer: wine.A sommelier is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, typically found infine restaurants. If you need help deciding which wine to choose on a menu, youcan talk with the restaurant's sommelier for guidance.Photo credit: public domain.Although any staff equipped to serve and recommendwines can technically be considered a sommelier, there is an extensivecertification process required for those who wish to take the next step.Depending on individual knowledge going in, it can take months of studying tobecome a certified sommelier, and even years to achieve advanced status. Todate, there are fewer than 300 certified sommelier masters in the world. Advanced sommeliers must pass three exams to become a master. The first is atheory portion, covering the history of wine and its creation, the second is ademonstration of a perfect pouring and wine service, and the third is the mostdifficult: the blind tasting. The third and final step requires applicants toidentify the origin, grape, year, and quality of six wines based on taste alone.On average, about 10-12 percent of applicants pass each year. In a formal advanced or master blind tasting examination, three white wines andthree red wines are poured blind. Only 25 minutes are allotted to decipher thesix different wines and no notes are allowed. That all adds up to only fourminutes and ten seconds for each wine!Interestingly, though, many master sommeliers report that much of the knowledgeof the blind-taste test comes from the smell of the wine. While taste can beaffected by circumstance – meals eaten that day, environment, mood, and time ofday – smell is a more finely tuned sense that tends to be slightly lesssusceptible to outside effects. In fact, the human body has more sensors toidentify smell than taste buds in the mouth. As some sommeliers say, "your noseknows." Smell will give testers about 60-80 percent of the analysis of a wine,while the rest will come from sight and taste.Learn more about the sommelier test below.